Thursday 28 August 2014 at 19:01
Selections of the forty beautiful woodblock illustrations from Everard Digby's De Arte Natandi (The Art of Swimming) published in 1587, considered the first English treatise on the practise.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-art-of-swimming-1587/
Wednesday 27 August 2014 at 17:06
A wonderful short film directed by illusionist-turned-filmmaker Walter R. Booth and produced by Robert Paul - one of the earliest examples of trickery in the editing room enabling an artist's creation to come to life on screen, a popular motif in early film.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/artistic-creation-1901/
Tuesday 26 August 2014 at 18:04
A classic piece of parody from the great English satirist and author of Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift. The particular butt of Swift's sharp pen in this instance was Robert Boyle and his Occasional Reflections upon Several Subjects, 1665
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/a-meditation-upon-a-broomstick-1711/
Sunday 24 August 2014 at 13:22
IMAGE: Plate 65 from Ernst Haeckel’s visually dazzling Kunstformen der Natur, t…
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/shop/mugs-bags-and-more/haeckel-florideae-mug/
Friday 22 August 2014 at 17:11
Animated GIF created by Bill Domonkos, using Prelinger Archive footage of the heart's function and a photograph from The Library of Congress.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/george-2014/
Thursday 21 August 2014 at 18:35
A selection of photo-micrographs created by Arthur E Smith and featured in the book Nature through Microscope & Camera(1909) by Richard Kerr.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/nature-through-microscope-and-camera-1909/
Wednesday 20 August 2014 at 17:26
Bert van de Roemer explores the curiosity cabinets of the Dutch collector Levinus Vincent and how the aesthetic drive behind his meticulous ordering of the contents was in essence religious, an attempt to emphasise the wonder of God's creations by restoring the natural world to its prelapsarian harmony.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/2014/08/20/redressing-the-balance-levinus-vincents-wonder-theatre-of-nature/
Tuesday 19 August 2014 at 13:53
A wonderful book amounting to something akin to an early 19th-century version of the Masked Magician, in which the reality behind various tricks and illusions of the day are exposed, including that of the Learned Pig.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-expositor-or-many-mysteries-unravelled-including-that-of-the-learned-pig-1805/
Wednesday 13 August 2014 at 19:01
Highlights from the Folger Shakespeare Library's Digital Image Collection, released now under a Creative Commons Share-Alike license.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/highlights-from-folger-shakespeare-librarys-release-of-almost-80000-images/
Tuesday 12 August 2014 at 18:23
A comprehensive guide to help the unwitting visitor avoid falling victim to the various and nefarious crimes abound in early 19th-century London.
Source: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-london-guide-and-strangers-safeguard-against-the-cheats-swindlers-and-pickpockets-1819/