Hanoverian Who’s Who. In a brocade-paper wallet binding.

[Binding] / [Almanac] / Matthias Rohlfs. Königl. Gross-Britannisch- und Chur-Fürstl. Braunschweig-Lüneburgischer Staats- Kalender auf das Jahr 1784… Lauenburg: gedruckt und zu finden bey Johann Georg Berenberg, Königl. privileg. Buchdrucker, [1783]. 8vo [17.4 x 10.5 cm], [28] ff., 222 pp. [last page misnumbered 220], [1] f. blank, [20] ff.; quire C is in 8s as expected, but the sense of the text suggests that C was in 10s and the central bifolium is lacking. In contemporary wallet binding covered with brocade paper, red sprinkled edges. Some edge wear to the binding, annotations inside binding. Stamp to title page, toning is some quires.
 
 
Rare first and only edition of this 1784 almanac-directory for Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Hanover), which was then under the British rule of King George III. The item is of special interest for its contemporary wallet binding of colorful brocade paper (Brokatpapier).
 
Only the first few dozen pages are given to the almanac proper (calendar, eclipses, planetary matters, seasonal information), with the bulk of the text being a who’s-who guide to the vast bureaucracy of the land, with many thousands of names of governmental and military officials.
 
Of particular interest (to me) is the full roster of faculty and staff of Göttingen University (including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, engravers, painters & sculptors, librarians, and curators); the region’s various learned societies; Latin grammar schools; and even dozens of monasteries & convents (listing the names of every monk, friar and nun in residence.) (pp. 129-73).
 
K10plus 1766118216.