The Public Domain Review

Arika Okrent explores the rise and fall of Volapük – a universal language created in the late 19th century by a German priest called Johann Schleyer. Johann Schleyer was a German priest whose irrational passion for umlauts may have been his undoing. During one sleepless night in 1879, he felt a Divine presence telling him to create a universal language. The result was Volapük. It was designed to be easy to learn, with a system of simple roots derived from European languages, and regular affixes which attached to the roots to make new words. Volapük was the first invented language to gain widespread success. By the end of the 1880s there were more than 200 Volapük societies and clubs around the world and 25 Volapük journals. Over 1500 diplomas in Volapük had been awarded. In 1889, when the third international Volapük congress was held in Paris, the proceedings were entirely in Volapük. Everyone had at least heard of it. President Grover Cleveland’s wife even named her dog Volapük. Though Schleyer was German, a large part of the Volapük vocabulary was based on English. “Volapük” was a compound formed from two roots, vol (from “world”) and pük (from “speak”). However, it [...]

From the Prelinger Archive – two early clay animations (The Penwiper and Green Pastures) by pioneering Chinese American animator Joseph Sunn from San Fransisco. These films are part of the “Ralph Wolfe’s Mud Stuff” series. Download from Internet Archive: The Penwiper and Green Pastures Note this film is in the public domain in the US, but may not be in other jurisdictions. Please check its status in your jurisdiction before re-using. Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

Selected pages from Geometria by Augustin Hirschvogel (1503–1553), a German artist, mathematician, and cartographer known primarily for his etchings. In this version from the Deutsche Fotothek, amid the rigid lines of the geometrical sketches appear the chaotic forms of stains which lie on each of the pages. (All images from Wikimedia Commons, originally from Deustche Fotothek). Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

The traditional Chinese song “White Hibiscus at Night” sung by Peony Su, a star of the Cantonese Opera during the 1920s and 30s. Learn more here. MP3 Download Internet Archive Link Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

The art of invigorating and prolonging life, by food, clothes, air, exercise, wine, sleep, &c and peptic precepts, pointing out agreeable and effectual methods to prevent and relieve indigestion, and to regulate and strengthen the action of the stomach and bowels: to which is added, the pleasure of making a will, by William Kitchiner; 1822; Hurst, Robinson, and Co., London. A comprehensive look at all the tricks in the trade in securing a longer and fuller life. As well as detailed regimes (often involving drinking wine and taking siestas), there is included in its pages this view of life laid out by William Jones. The book is housed at the Internet Archive, originating from the Medical Heritage Library. Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

A selection of birds as featured in Volume 1 of (the magnificently titled) Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands: containing the figures of birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, insects, and plants: particulary the forest-trees, shrubs, and other plants, not hitherto described, or very incorrectly figured by authors. Together with their descriptions in English and French. To which are added, observations on the air, soil, and waters: with remarks upon agriculture, grain, pulse, roots, &c., by Mark Catesby and George Edwards. (All images taken from The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands by Mark Catesby and George Edwards housed at the Biodiversity Heritage Library, through which the whole book can be seen). Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

One of the most notable newsreel films in existence – footage showing the assassination of King Alexander of Yugoslavia on 9th October, 1934. While the exact moment of shooting was not captured on film, the events leading to the assassination and the immediate aftermath were. The body of the chauffeur (who had been killed instantly) became jammed against the brakes of the car, allowing the cameraman to continue filming from within inches of the King for a number of minutes afterwards. The film was later revealed to have been manipulated slightly in order to give the audience the impression that the assassination had been captured on film. Three identical gunshot sounds were added to the film afterwards, when in reality Chernozemski shot over ten times, killing or wounding a total of 15 people. The exact moment of assassination was never filmed. On Tuesday 9 October 1934 the King Alexander arrived in Marseilles to start a state visit to the Third French Republic, to strengthen the two countries’ alliance in the Little Entente. While Alexander was being driven in a car through the streets along with French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, a gunman, Vlado Chernozemski, stepped from the street and shot [...]

A selection of woodcuts from an 1882 book compiling facsimiles of 18th century chapbooks. To see the pictures in context and peruse the full chapbooks see our post in the Text section where we have the full book. (All images taken from the Chap-books of the eighteenth century, with facsimiles, notes, and introduction by John Ashton (1882) housed at the Internet Archive, donated by University of Pittsburgh Library System. Hat-tip to Pinterest user Erin H). Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

Chap-books of the eighteenth century, with facsimiles, notes, and introduction by John Ashton; 1882; Chatto and Windus, London. Wonderful book offering facsimiles of hundreds of 18th century chapbooks upon a huge range of subjects – from tragic tales of revenge and murder to guides for interpreting dreams and moles – and the exquisite illustrative woodcuts which would often accompany the text. Included in this compilation is an informative introduction by John Ashton on the chapbook phenomenon, with additional commentary on some of the works. For a selection of woodcuts from the book see our Images post The book is housed at the Internet Archive, donated by University of Pittsburgh Library System. Hat-tip to Pinterest user Erin H Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!

A recording from the Library of Congress Berliner collection – the performer N.R. Wood imitates various animal sounds heard during the early morning, including sheep, cattle, cock, hens, guinea hen, turkey, hawk, crow, and other birds. Recorded in Washington, D.C. by Berliner Gramophone, 5th August 1897. MP3 Download Internet Archive Link Sign up to get our free fortnightly newsletter which shall deliver direct to your inbox the latest brand new article and a digest of the most recent collection items. Simply add your details to the form below and click the link you receive via email to confirm your subscription!