The Public Domain Review

More than just a favourite of Victorian home entertainment, the stereoscope and the 3D images it created were also used in the field of science. Lydia Pyne explores how the French palaeontologist Marcellin Boule utilised the device in his groundbreaking monograph analysing one of the early-20th-century's most significant archaeological discoveries - the Neanderthal skeleton of La Chapelle.

Chocolate has not always been the common confectionary we experience today. When it arrived from the Americas into Europe in the 17th century it was a rare and mysterious substance, thought more of as a drug than as a food. Christine Jones traces the history and literature of its reception.

IMAGE: Advert for Perry Davis’ Pain Killer by F. Archer, ca. 1899. Davis’ “PAIN KILLER” was originally patented in 1845 and is believed to be the first nationally advertised remedy specifically for pain, as distinct from a particular disorder. From the collection of Wellcome Library, London. SIZE: A wide variety of sizes possible including the recommended 20″ x 28″ PAPER: Available on a variety of different papers from normal posterâ�¦

IMAGE: Advert for a Farini exhibition in London starring Captain Costentenus, a “Greek Albanian! Tattooed from head to foot in Chinese Tartary, as punishment for engaging in rebellion against the King”. From the collection of Wellcome Library, London. SIZE: A wide variety of sizes possible including the recommended 20″ x 28″ PAPER: Available on a variety of different papers from normal poster paper, through to heavyweight archival and premium canvas.â�¦

IMAGE: Advert for Hall’s Coca Wine: The Elixir of Life, a tonic wine of the early twentieth century that used cocaine as an ingredient. From the collection of Wellcome Library, London. SIZE: A wide variety of sizes possible including the recommended 20″ x 28″ PAPER: Available on a variety of different papers from normal poster paper, through to heavyweight archival and premium canvas. PRICE: Varies depending on size and paperâ�¦

Julia Pastrana, a woman from Mexico born with hypertrichosis, became one of the most famous human curiosities of the 19th century, exhibited as a "bearded lady" while both alive and dead. Bess Lovejoy explores her story and how it was only in 2013, 153 years after her passing, that she was finally laid to rest.

Email not displaying properly? View web version Announcing the launch of our very first book! The Public Domain Review: Selected Essays, 2011-2013Paperback / 216mm x 140mm346 pages / 70lb paper / full colour34 essays / 146 illustrations We are very pleased to announce our very first foray into printed matter: a selection of essays from our first three years. Spread across six themed chapters – Animals, Bodies, Words, Worlds, Encountersâ�¦

The Public Domain Review: Selected Essays, 2011-2013 Thirty-four essays spread across six themed chapters ANIMALS Nicholas Humphrey Bugs and Beasts Before the Law Niki Russell Mary Toft and Her Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbits Frank Key Christopher Smart’s Jubilate Agno Mark Kaufman Robert Baden-Powell’s Entomological Intrigues BODIES Nicholas Jeeves The Serious and the Smirk Noga Arikha As a Lute out of Tune: Robert Burton’s Melancholy George Prochnik American Kaleidoscope: Morton Princeâ�¦

Congratulations, the purchase was a success! Your transaction has been completed and a receipt for your purchase has been emailed to you. See below for details on delivery and how you can help us spread the word. Information on Postage U.S. orders should expect a time of around 2 to 3 weeks, for non-US destinations it should be around 3 or 4 weeks. We know this is a long time�

The PDR Press is the newly formed book publishing spin-off project from The Public Domain Review. In addition to the annual Selected Essays series, it shall publish a range of beautifully crafted limited edition books – text and image – all of which shall use the historical archive as their resource and starting point. More to come soon…. If you’d like to talk about possibilities for collaboration then please contactâ�¦