The Public Domain Review

This is just an automatic copy of Public Domain Review blog.

Titiba and the Invention of the Unknown

Wednesday 26 February 2020 at 10:54

In this lyrical essay on a difficult and painful topic, the poet Kathryn Nuernberger works to defy history’s commitment to distance, to unsettling effect.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/titiba-and-the-invention-of-the-unknown


"Theire Soe Admirable Herbe": How the English Found Cannabis

Thursday 20 February 2020 at 07:58

In the 17th century, English travelers, merchants, and physicians were first introduced to cannabis, particularly in the form of bhang, an intoxicating edible which had been getting Indians high for millennia. Benjamin Breen charts the course of the drug from the streets of Machilipatnam to the scientific circles of London.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/how-the-english-found-cannabis


“A Very Speedy Way to Be Besotted”: How the English Found Cannabis

Thursday 20 February 2020 at 07:58

In the 17th century, English travelers, merchants, and physicians were first introduced to cannabis, particularly in the form of bhang, an intoxicating edible which had been getting Indians high for millennia. Benjamin Breen charts the course of the drug from the streets of Machilipatnam to the scientific circles of London.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/a-very-speedy-way-to-be-besotted-how-the-english-found-cannabis


Japanese Firemen’s Coats (19th century)

Tuesday 18 February 2020 at 07:50

Firemen's coats in 19th-century Japan were reversible — one side was plain and the other side (worn on the inside while tackling blazes) was decorated with rich and symbolic imagery

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/japanese-firemans-coats-19th-century


Glossary of Censored Words from a 1919 Treatise on Love

Thursday 13 February 2020 at 10:37

List of Latin words used to veil words deemed too scandalous in Bernard S. Talmey’s treatise on carnal acts.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/glossary-of-censored-words-from-a-1919-book-on-love


Frances Power Cobbe’s “The Peak in Darien: The Riddle of Death” (1882)

Tuesday 11 February 2020 at 07:55

An essay by Frances Power Cobbe, an advocate for women’s suffrage, about the consolation and possible significance of deathbed visions.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/frances-power-cobbe-the-peak-in-darien-1882


Interview with PDR's Adam Green on Nightingale

Thursday 6 February 2020 at 11:54

PDR Editor Adam Green talks to Jason Forrest of Nightingale, journal for the Data Visualization Society.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/blog/2020/02/interview-with-pdr-editor-on-nightingale


When Dorothy Parker Got Fired from *Vanity Fair*

Thursday 6 February 2020 at 06:53

Dorothy Parker’s reputation as one of the premier wits of the 20th century rests firmly on the brilliance of her writing, but the image of her as a plucky, fast-talking, independent woman of her times owes more than a little to her seat at the legendary Algonquin Round Table. Jonathan Goldman explores the beginnings of the famed New York group and how Parker's determination to speak her mind — even when it angered men in positions of power — gave her pride of place within it.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/when-dorothy-parker-got-fired-from-vanity-fair


Sarah Goodridge’s Beauty Revealed (1828)

Wednesday 5 February 2020 at 06:53

The story of American artist Sarah Goodridge’s erotic self-portrait on a miniature ivory plate, given as a secret present to her lover, US Senator Daniel Webster.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/sarah-goodridges-beauty-revealed-1828


Nooks and Corners of Old New York (1899)

Tuesday 28 January 2020 at 06:25

A detailed guide to the old stories and landscapes of New York City, published in the last year of the 19th century.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/nooks-and-corners-of-old-new-york