In1732Ifirstpublish'dmyAlmanack, underthenameofRichardSaunders; itwascontinu'dbymeabouttwenty-fiveyears, commonlycall'dPoorRichard'sAlmanac.[74] Iendeavour'dtomakeitbothentertaininganduseful, anditaccordinglycametobeinsuchdemand, thatIreap'dconsiderableprofitfromit, , scarceanyneighborhoodintheprovincebeingwithoutit, Iconsider'ditasapropervehicleforconveyinginstructionamongthecommonpeople, whoboughtscarcelyanyotherbooks; Ithereforefilledallthelittlespacesthatoccurr'dbetweentheremarkabledaysinthecalendarwithproverbialsentences, chieflysuchasinculcatedindustryandfrugality, asthemeansofprocuringwealth, andtherebysecuringvirtue; itbeingmoredifficultforamaninwant, toactalwayshonestly, as, tousehereoneofthoseproverbs, itishardforanemptysacktostandupright.

Theseproverbs, whichcontainedthewisdomofmanyagesandnations, Iassembledandform'dintoaconnecteddiscourseprefix'dtotheAlmanackof1757, ', beinguniversallyapproved, wascopiedinallthenewspapersoftheContinent; reprintedinBritainonabroadside, tobestuckupinhouses; twotranslationsweremadeofitinFrench, andgreatnumbersboughtbytheclergyandgentry, , asitdiscourageduselessexpenseinforeignsuperfluities, somethoughtithaditsshareofinfluenceinproducingthatgrowingplentyofmoneywhichwasobservableforseveralyearsafteritspublication.