On December 19, 1732, Benjamin Franklin began to publish Poor Richard’s Almanack. And while Old Ben’s almanac is one of the most famous, it was by no means the first. It wasn’t first in America, and it wasn’t even the first such thing to be published by a member of the Franklin clan: Ben’s older brother James began publishing the Rhode Island Almanack in 1727. Even more interesting? James often used the pseudonym “Poor Robin”.
Almanacs have been published for thousands of years. Copies of Babylonian almanacs, complete with lists of lucky and unlucky days (and how to handle each) have been discovered, and the almanac has been a staple in European publishing for centuries. While it’s not an especially common thing to find these days, modern almanacs follow a familiar formula by listing the days of the year along with holidays and other time-sensitive information for the upcoming months (we’re talking about things like tide charts, planting tables and even horoscopes).
We’ve got a soft spot for Ben Franklin, and we like to think that we’re promoters of a number of his philosophies – especially those of personal thrift. It’s our mission to help people sell their unused items and to help others save big bucks on purchasing those items. And now? We do it all for free. It’s completely free to advertise and it costs nothing when you sell. And that? Would make community-minded Ben proud, we think.