Rare almanac for 1787, from a series of Berlin almanacs that appeared under various titles from 1769 to 1813. The almanacs could be acquired with etched plates illustrating the 12 months by the greatest German book illustrator of the 18th century Daniel Chodowiecki. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Art and worked for the Berlin Genealogischer Kalender, or Almanac Généalogique from 1770 until his death in 1801, as well as for other almanac publishers. Chodowiecki was given free rein to choose the subjects of the 12 plates, always in the calendar section of the annual almanacs. He often chose popular plays; in the present work his 12 illustrations depict scenes from the play Die Jäger (Chasseurs) by the German actor and playwright August Wilhelm Iffland (1759-1814), published in 1785. The subject of each illustration is explained in a 7-page "Explication des estampes". Also included is an engraved portrait of the young Princess Frederique Charlotte Ulrique Catharine of Prussia (1767-1820), who would become Duchess of York and Albany through her marriage to Prince Frederick, King Georges second son in 1791. The folding map depicts the projected route of what is today known as the Kiel canal, completed in 1784, which joints the North Sea to the Baltic.
The binding shows signs of wear, some sequins are lost, the silk is somewhat soiled, Some sequins lost, silk soiled, occasional slight foxing and staining, with a tear along the gutter of the map. Otherwise in good condition. Cf. Lanckoronska & Oehler, Die Buchillustration des XVIII. Jhts., II, pp. 92-93.