Negative Nancies and other related musings

[Joel S. Berson]

At 3/21/2010 05:15 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>Headline: Annapolis, February 20, 1737,8; Article Type: News/Opinion
>Paper: American Weekly Mercury, published as The American Weekly
>Mercury; Date: From Tuesday February 28, to Tuesday March 7, 1738;
>Issue: 949; Page: Supplement [2/1]; Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
>>To conclude if any Gentleman concern'd, is dissatisfied with this
>>Account of the Affair, and thinks fit in a publick Manner to call upon
>>me to make it good, I will immediately unmask and be at his service.
>>Till then it is presumed the Gentlemen of /Philadelphia/ will know
>>better how to employ their Ships than to send them to /Maryland/ upon
>>the Credit of this /chymerical Scheme/.
>>     /John Doe/
>
>A month later, this elicits a response. Note the apparent jokes on the
>dates as well--as The Weekly American listed the dates as "1737,8",
>apparently in reference to the continuity of the volume.

The dual year is because Britain, and its colonies, were still using
the Julian calendar, and the new year did not begin until March
25.  The dual date removed any ambiguity, at a time when other
countries had moved to the Gregorian calendar.  There is no joke on
the date, or reference to continuity of the volume.

Joel

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