Renaissance of the Earth

George Wharton, Calendarium Ecclesiasticum (1658)
This text is an example of a 17th almanac, containing conventional information on meteorological phenomena, tidal activity, market dates, English history, and law terms.
Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection.

George Wharton, Calendarium Ecclesiasticum (1658)
Almanac owners often filled blank pages with writing, typically that associated with the activities of daily life. On this page we see an account of “Disease that was Amongst Horses in 1655.” Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection.

George Wharton, Calendarium Ecclesiasticum (1658)
We also see annotated almanacs filled with notes of local travel, household accounts, and even medicinal or culinary recipes. This page includes a recipe for pickling mushrooms.
Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection.

Artist in Residence Felicity Sheehy reads from her original poetry, inspired by the Kinney Center’s collection.

Daniel Browne, A New Almanacke and Prognostication (1625)
Almanacs served as helpful guides for farmers and merchants, containing information on important dates of the year, market times, and lunar/tidal cycles. The early modern almanac was often published with a “prognostication,” which contains a list of major historical events, astrological predictions based on season and region, a husbandry guide, and chart for computing interest.
Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection.

Daniel Browne, A New Almanacke and Prognostication (1625)
The anonymous owner of the Center’s 1625 almanac has written notes in the book’s calendars, mostly referencing travel. In this example, we see this almanac’s owner visited “knottford faire” on June 7.
Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection.

As part of her residency, Felicity created a hands-on works that invited students, scholars, and members of the public to practice her process—engaging in creative and scholarly practice.

John Evelyn, Kalendarium Hortense (1683)
This almanac, like many in the early modern period, guides the amateur gardener through each months of the year—laying out when to plant, when to harvest, and when to anticipate blossoms or fruit.
Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection

John Evelyn, Kalendarium Hortense (1683)
For the month of June, Evelyn directs his reader on how to best harvest, dry, and distill herbs. He also encourages them to begin pest management now, offering a variety of methods to “destroy insects.”
Held in the Kinney Center’s rare book collection

Participants in Felicity’s workshop generated new poems as they engaged with rare texts and explored natural elements gathered from the Center’s landscape.