"Hostetter's United States Almanac, for the Use of Merchants, Mechanics, Farmers and Planters, and All Families," 1863

Almanacs contained practical information about the coming year. Readers normally found a calendar, weather predictions, tide schedules, and information related to astronomical events, agriculture, health, politics and other matters. Interspersed were jokes and witty sayings. Beginning in the late 1800s, makers of Hostetter's Bitters -- a self-proclaimed cure-all with high alcohol content -- published almanacs to entice the public to buy their products.