The Public Domain Review

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

Images from the First Colour Publication on Fish (1754)

Tuesday 4 April 2017 at 19:48

Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes can lay claim to be being the earliest known publication in colour on fish, though many specimens seem to border on fantasy.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/images-from-the-earliest-known-colour-book-on-fish-1754/


The Wise Boys: or, The Entertaining Histories of Fred Forethought, Matt Merrythought, Luke Lovebook and Ben Bee (ca. 1842)

Thursday 30 March 2017 at 18:42

Collection of poetic stories championing exemplary boyhood behaviour, the work of the American poet Sarah Josepha Buell Hale.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-wise-boys-or-the-entertaining-histories-of-fred-forethought-matt-merrythought-luke-lovebook-and-ben-bee-ca-1842/


Edward Curtis’ Photographs of Kwakwaka’wakw Ceremonial Dress and Masks (ca. 1914)

Wednesday 29 March 2017 at 18:02

The ceremonial costumes and masks of the Kwakwaka'wakw people as photographed by American photographer and ethnologist Edward Curtis, famous for his work with Native American people.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/edward-curtis-photographs-of-kwakwakawakw-ceremonial-costumes-and-masks-ca-1914/


American Freedom: Sinclair Lewis and the Open Road

Wednesday 22 March 2017 at 16:48

Some three decades before Kerouac and friends hit the road, Sinclair Lewis published Free Air, one of the very first novels about an automobile-powered road trip across the United States. Steven Michels looks at the particular vision of freedom espoused in the tale, one echoed throughout Lewis’ oeuvre. Sinclair Lewis at the wheel of his automobile, ca. 1920s — Source. Sinclair Lewis is experiencing a renaissance of late — butâ�¦

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/2017/03/22/american-freedom-sinclair-lewis-and-the-open-road/


What Became of the Slaves on a Georgia Plantation? (1863)

Tuesday 21 March 2017 at 15:20

A scathing article exposing the horrors of a the biggest slave auction in American history.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/what-became-of-the-slaves-on-a-georgia-plantation-1863/


John McCormack – Recordings: 1911-1940

Friday 17 March 2017 at 18:46

The songs of one of Ireland's best known tenors, renowned for lending his superior diction and breath control to a whole range of operatic and popular songs.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/john-mccormack-recordings-1911-1940/


Aratea: Making Pictures with Words in the 9th Century

Tuesday 14 March 2017 at 19:15

Some of the earliest examples of calligrams found in a 9th-century astronomical manuscript on the constellations.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/aratea-making-pictures-with-words-in-the-9th-century/


Maniac Chase (1904)

Thursday 9 March 2017 at 18:04

One of the very first screen depictions of the now familiar Napoleon delusion trope — in which a mentally ill person believes themselves to be Napoleon Bonaparte.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/maniac-chase-1904/


Voltaire and the Buddha

Wednesday 8 March 2017 at 16:22

Donald S. Lopez, Jr. looks at Voltaire's early reflections on Buddhism and how, in his desire to separate the Buddha's teachings from the trappings of religion, the French Enlightenment thinker prefigured an approach now familiar in the West.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/2017/03/08/voltaire-and-the-buddha/


Images from Johann Zahn’s Oculus Artificialis (1685)

Tuesday 7 March 2017 at 17:42

The excellent engravings from Johann Zahn's early and comprehensive account of the function and usage of a number of optical instruments, including the camera obscura and magic lantern.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/images-from-johann-zahns-oculus-artificialis-1685/