Practical Perpetual Calendars

Book excerpt: Perpetual calendars are a fascinating way to look at time, and can be defined in a variety of ways. In a comprehensive how-to manual, James Saltvold shares valuable insight on how to use his unique concepts to make practical perpetual calendars for everyday home and office use. These calendars, which save resources and look like a conventional calendar, can be set to display any month for any year within their range. They are set by simply moving a slider, and typically have a range of 50 to 100 years. Saltvold uses skills he acquired during an engineering career to present design ideas and concepts for calendars that are easy to produce and use. After providing a brief description of the four types or categories that his calendars fi t into, Saltvold leads readers on an informative journey, enhanced by figures and tables. He explains how to bring calendar prototypes into mass production, describes products that can be made from the four types of perpetual calendars, details which products might be attractive to various markets and manufacturers, and shares a brief history of his own work in developing concepts and researching patents. Additional sections include material on where to search for more information on perpetual calendars, as well as references with comments. Practical Perpetual Calendars includes designs for desk calendars, wall calendars, pocket calendars, photo holders, and other applications. The calendars shown on the front cover are described on the following pages: wall calendar (p. 129), clock (p. 77), pocket calendar (p. 68), full-year calendar (p. 157), 7-column desk calendar (p. 145), and 13-column desk calendar (p. 120).