The Public Domain Review

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

The Revolutionary Colossus

Thursday 10 December 2020 at 11:46

As the French Revolution entered its most radical years, there emerged in print a recurring figure, the collective power of the people expressed as a single gigantic body — a king-eating Colossus. Samantha Wesner traces the lineage of this nouveau Hercules, from Erasmus Darwin’s Bastille-breaking giant to a latter incarnation in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/revolutionary-colossus


Don Quixote in the 20th Century (ca. 1905)

Wednesday 9 December 2020 at 06:43

Colorful chromolithograph postcards depicting Don Quixote in twentieth-century scenes.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/pedro-de-rojas-don-quixote-in-the-20th-century


Ikom Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria (1913)

Tuesday 8 December 2020 at 06:43

Mushroom babies, heroic tortoises, death, burial, power struggles: folk tales from southern Nigeria as filtered through the sensibility of a colonial administrator.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/folk-stories-from-southern-nigeria


The Launch of Our End-of-Year Fundraiser!

Wednesday 2 December 2020 at 14:20

Our End-of-Year Fundraiser is launched, and the new postcards theme will be Communication.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/blog/2020/12/launch-of-end-of-year-fundraiser


En Pleine Mer: The Underwater Landscapes of Eugen von Ransonnet-Villez

Tuesday 1 December 2020 at 06:31

Images from colour pencil drawings made while the artist was submerged in a diving bell.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/underwater-landscapes-of-eugen-von-ransonnet-villez


Lord of Misrule: Thomas Morton’s American Subversions

Tuesday 24 November 2020 at 13:29

When we think of early New England, we tend to picture stern-faced Puritans and black-hatted Pilgrims, but in the same decade that these more famous settlers arrived, a man called Thomas Morton founded a very different kind of colony — a neo-pagan experiment he named Merrymount. Ed Simon explores the colony’s brief existence and the alternate vision of America it represents.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/lord-of-misrule-thomas-mortons-american-subversions


Thomas Wright's An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe (1750)

Thursday 19 November 2020 at 10:18

Wright’s theory, illustrated by 32 plates, mixes influential discoveries about the milky way with fantastical visions of divine creation.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/an-original-theory-or-new-hypothesis-of-the-universe


Temperance Stories and Sketches (1879)

Thursday 19 November 2020 at 10:17

Temperance movement book full of tales, poems, and illustrations warning readers against the perils of alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/temperance-stories-and-sketches


Last Order Dates for Christmas 2020

Thursday 12 November 2020 at 15:57

A little bit earlier this year (due to you know what), below are the recommended cut-off dates to order from our shop by to ensure delivery in time for Dec 25th. Please do get your orders in early! And remember all proceeds go directly back into supporting the project.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/blog/2020/11/last-order-dates-for-christmas-2020


Greek Masquerade (1771)

Thursday 12 November 2020 at 12:53

The goût grec style in extremis, as architecture surrounds the body in this series of fantastical and playful prints.

Source: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/greek-masquerade