"An Astronomical Diary Or An ALMANACK..." for the year 1738, printed in Boston by John Draper.  This is a great rarity, and one of the earliest American imprints we have been fortunate enough to offer in many years. Complete in 16 pages, some wear at the margins which is typical of almanacs (heavily used), rounding of a lower corner, a few indents at right margins, generally in good condition for an almanac. Measures 4 1/2 by 6 3/4 inches.

Background: Printed in late 1737 by colonial printer John Draper, Dr. Nathaniel Ames’s An Astronomical Diary, or, An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord Christ, 1738 represents an extraordinarily rare, complete 16-page survival of early American printing. Ames’s Astronomical Diary was the most widely read almanac series in New England—outselling even Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard's Almanack in the region—and served as a vital daily centerpiece of colonial intellectual and practical life. Rich in content, this pocket-sized compilation delivered astronomical and meteorological calculations for the meridian of Boston, eclipse predictions, church fasts, court dates, and inter-colony travel routes, alongside Ames's signature mix of essayistic verse, medical notes, and secular philosophy. Because colonial almanacs functioned as heavily handled reference tools—often hung by a cord near the fireplace and used daily until discarded—most were destroyed by routine wear, making a complete 18th-century edition in its original 8-leaf structure a pinnacle rarity among pre-Revolutionary imprints.