Rider's British Merlin
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Rider's British Merlin was one of the earliest almanacs to be published, issued from 1656 until at least 1837.
The almanac contained the calendar, weather, and astronomical and astrological information that a typical almanac of the period would contain. The pages for each month of the year were accompanied by advice on what, and what not to eat and drink, and otherwise how to keep in good health. There were horticultural notes with abundant attention paid to herbs, fruit and vegetables.
The lengthiest sections of this little book listed annual fairs in England and Wales of fixed and moveable date. The first would generally be associated with a saint's day, while the second would be of the type "second Monday in October". This list of town names and dates represented important information in the days before Agricultural Advisers, Trade Fairs and Job Offices, when the fairs played an important role not only in buying and selling, but also in exhibiting innovations in husbandry, in information exchange and in the hiring of labour.