Annual publications

Annual publications, more often called simply annuals, are periodical publications appearing regularly once per year. Although exact definitions may vary, types of annuals include: Calendars and almanacs, directories, yearbooks, annual reports, proceedings and transactions, and literary annuals. A weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication. Some encyclopedias have published annual supplements that essentially summarize the news of the past year, similar to some newspaper yearbooks.

To libraries and collectors, annuals present challenges of size (tens or hundreds of volumes) and completeness (acquiring a sequence with no missing volumes). They are handled similar to serial publications, which typically means a single library catalog record for the title, not for individual years. The single record must then indicate which volumes (years) are held.

The mid and late 20th century saw a sharp increase in the publication of annuals, to report scientific results and provide overview, both in ever more specialized topics and in popular summary.

A new form of literary work called the "Annual" was a fad from about 1823 through 1857, and became so popular, that they were soon published up to 17 times a year. British royalty increased their popularity. They closely resemble many college literary "books" just produced for college campus today, except they contained lots of etchings of beautiful women from steel plates. They were the fashion magazines of the day. Later it became fashionable to watercolor the etchings, and the "Annuals" became early coloring books. There was later a backlash against "beauty", and the fad ended, as did steel plate etchings for books.

"The Annual" was a long running fad from 1824 until 1857 which started in England, but spilled over into the USA. Steel plates of the 1820s allowed book publishers to mass-produce pictures. What started out as an "annual book" or a gift for the holidays, turned into something that had up to 17 editions through the year (yet were still called Annuals). Countess Blessington and other royal women contributed to the works, and altered fashion. This fad was sometimes referred to as "beauty", as books with plates of women defined the content.

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