Calendar Keeping for Nomads

27 Dec
2010

The first law mentioned in the Torah is to keep the calendar: the basis of all Jewish holidays and a structure given for future commandments. Moon cycles were the nightly clue used for generations to keep track of this time consuming yet crucial task.

We have come along way since then, and though most people can not remember a holiday or birthday without an electronic reminder, there are still those who prefer bound books of paper to remember important dates and enjoy this visceral method for connecting to time.

2011 Datebook by Purgatory Pie Press Buy Here

Whether she realizes it or not, Esther K. Smith of Purgatory Pie Press has continued in the tradition of calendar keeping. Even though the Gregorian calendar (based on the sun) has never related to the Jewish calendar, the nomadic theme in this piece gives the datebook an exiled flair.

Steven Heller interviews Esther in his post on the new leather bound, letterpress-printed, datebook for 2011 by Purgatory Pie Press.

From Steven Heller:

Esther Smith, PPP’s co-proprietor, told me the backstory: “We started making datebooks in 1980 for 1981. I couldn’t find one that I liked and thought [Smith’s husband and partner] Dikko Faust could print one for me–I made a few sketches. Thinking the lines would be a problem, I decided he should print it on archival graph paper. Dikko said J‘s would be a problem, so I decided he should make sort of type collages that he called  TYPOGLYPHS. Of course, my idea was very different from what Dikko made, so we began bouncing things back and forth, collaborating.”

Read the full interview: Imprint-The Online Community for Graphic Designers | If You Are Into Leather. . .

Do you have your own Gregorian calendar ready to go but wondering when the Jewish holidays fall out in 2011? Write them in now and use this handy list for help!

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