Elizabeth Pepper DaCosta (1923-2005) was the editor and publisher of ''The Witches’ Almanac'', established in 1971. The company, founded in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, produces an annual publication in

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

format as well as a variety of related books. In addition to her literary work, Pepper was an accomplished graphic designer.

Early life

Born in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, November 7, 1923, she attended

Pembroke College (Brown University) Pembroke College in Brown University was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and merged into Brown in 1971. Founding and early history The founding of the Women's College ...

and the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

. As did other talented youngsters in the arts, Pepper moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after college. There she did graduate work with type designers Arnold Bank, Howard Trafton and Freeman Craw.

She enjoyed living in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, the center of the art world during the fifties, and spent summer vacations in

Provincetown Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

or on

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Long ...

. In the mid 60's Elizabeth and her husband Martin moved to Walker Valley, N.Y. where they enjoyed a peaceful life at the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. In the mid 70's they returned to Newport, R.I.

Career

Pepper served as the art director of

Gourmet Magazine ''Gourmet'' magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. The New York Times noted that "''Gourmet'' was to food what ''Vogue'' is to fashion." Founded by Earle R. MacAusland (1890–1980 ...

from 1956 to 1963, the first woman to hold the position. The publication was smaller than the contemporary version, but what it lacked in readership it offered in swank. Under the ownership of Earl MacAusland, its headquarters were in the

penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

of the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

. Pepper had a little office under the eaves with a view of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

looking toward the zoo, where on fine days lunch could be taken on the cafeteria terrace. Lunch music was often provided by the bark of seals enjoying their noontime fish. Mrs. Da Costa was best known as the founder, publisher and editor of The Witches’ Almanac, established in 1971 and still published annually.

Personal life

Pepper was the daughter of Edward C. Pepper, a Providence real-estate developer, and Agnes Ryan Pepper. Elizabeth's mother and an aunt read the

tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...

and from childhood interested Elizabeth in the occult. She spent her adult years, parallel to her professional life, accumulating wisdom in the study of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, ...

, and plant and animal lore. She was married to Martin Da Costa of Philadelphia, a sculptor and painter. Mr. Da Costa, deceased, was a veteran of World War II, and his work is part of permanent collections in Philadelphia, New York, and the West Coast. At the time of her death in 2005, at the age of eighty-one, her household included numerous dogs and cats, always part of the DaCosta home. She was attended during her last difficult year by a circle of loving friends.

Bibliography

Elizabeth Pepper DaCosta was the author/editor/publisher/designer of eleven books, many illustrated by medieval woodcuts: *''The Witches' Almanac published yearly from 1971-1979 and from 1991-2005'' *''Magical and Mystical Sites: Europe and the British Isles (with

John Wilcock John Wilcock (4 August 1927 – 13 September 2018) was a British journalist known for his work in the underground press, as well as his travel guide books. The first news editor of the New York ''Village Voice'', Wilcock shook up staid publish ...

)'' *''Magic Charms from A to Z'' *''Love Charms'' *''Celtic Tree Magic'' *''Moon Lore'' *''Magic Spells and Incantations'' *''Love Feasts'' *''A Book of Days'' (with John Wilcock) *''Magical Creatures'' (with Barbara Stacy) *''Ancient Roman Holidays'' (Barbara Stacy) *''Witches All'' *''Random Recollections I, II, III, IV'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Elizabeth 1923 births 2005 deaths Pembroke College in Brown University alumni Rhode Island School of Design alumni American magazine editors American graphic designers American women journalists 21st-century American women