The Public Domain Review

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

The City of Truth, or, Ethics (1609)

Wednesday 1 February 2017 at 20:52

Images of imaginary utopias and dystopias used to illustrate an allegorical poem by Bartolomeo Del Bene (1515-1595) — a reworking of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethicsis.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-city-of-truth-or-ethics-1609/


The Pioneer ov Simplified Speling, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1912)

Tuesday 31 January 2017 at 17:18

The inaugural issue of the official journal of the Simplified Speling Soesiety, a group of passionate spelling reformists active in early 20th-century Britain, who boasted George Bernard Shaw amongst their members.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-pioneer-ov-simplified-speling-vol-1-no-1-1912/


Miniatures from a 12th-century Medical and Herbal Collection

Thursday 26 January 2017 at 18:31

Wonderful series of miniatures from a late 12th-century herbal with delightfully abstract depictions of plants including Cannabis), and a variety of medieval medical procedures, such as cauterization and the removal of haemorrhoids.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/miniatures-from-a-12th-century-medical-and-herbal-collection/


Defoe and the Distance to Utopia

Wednesday 25 January 2017 at 17:18

In the wake of recent political shifts and the dystopian flavour they carry for many, J.H. Pearl looks to the works of Daniel Defoe and the lessons they can teach us about bringing utopia home.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/2017/01/25/defoe-and-the-distance-to-utopia/


The Confidence-Man (1857)

Tuesday 24 January 2017 at 17:24

Published on the day it is set, April Fool's Day 1857, Herman Melville's last novel concerns a group of passengers travelling by steamboat along the Mississippi and their various encounters with the enigmatic conman of the title.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-confidence-man-1857/


The “Living Photographs” of Mole and Thomas

Thursday 5 January 2017 at 22:22

A series of extraordinary group portraits, made between 1915 and 1921, comprised of thousands of servicemen and staff from various US military camps arranged into pictures.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-living-photographs-of-mole-and-thomas/


Some Remarks on the Legacy of Madame Francine Descartes – First Lady and Historian of the Robocene – on the Occasion of 500 Years Since her Unlawful Watery Execution.

Wednesday 4 January 2017 at 14:46

CONJECTURES #3 — Dominic Pettman, through the voice of a distant Roomba descendant, offers a glimpse into the historiographical revenge of our enslaved devices.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/some-remarks-on-the-legacy-of-madame-francine-descartes/


The Trouvelot Astronomical Drawings (1882)

Wednesday 14 December 2016 at 19:04

The Trouvelot Astronomical Drawings published in 1882, a collection of 15 exquisite pastel works created by the French artist, astronomer and amateur entomologist Étienne Léopold Trouvelot.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-trouvelot-astronomical-drawings-1882/


Forty-Four Turkish Fairy Tales (1913)

Tuesday 13 December 2016 at 18:51

In this elaborately produced volume, beautifully illustrated by Willy Pogany, Hungarian-born linguist Ignác Kúnos presents 44 folktales from Turkey, including princesses, dragons, wizards, witches, and horses that can fly.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/forty-four-turkish-fairy-tales-1913/


The Many Lives of the Medieval Wound Man

Wednesday 7 December 2016 at 17:53

Sliced, stabbed, punctured, bleeding, harassed on all sides by various weaponry, the curious image of Wound Man is a rare yet intriguing presence in the world of medieval and early modern medical manuscripts. Jack Hartnell explores this enigmatic figure’s journey through the centuries.

Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/2016/12/07/the-many-lives-of-the-medieval-wound-man/