It's #WorldOctopusDay! Pictured here a “Polypus levis Hoyle” from a 1910 publication on the German Deep-Sea Expedition of 1898, led by Leipzig University Professor of Zoology, Carl Chun. Buy it as a print here:
The Public Domain Review
Octopus – Product
Image of a "Polypus levis Hoyle" from a 1910 publication on the German Deep-Sea Expedition of 1898, led by Leipzig University Professor of Zoology,...
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#OnThisDay in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe passed away under mysterious circumstances. Of all the artists who gave life to Poe's macabre tales over the years, perhaps none captured them quite so brilliantly as the Irish artist Harry Clarke:
The Public Domain Review
Harry Clarke’s Illustrations for Poe’s *Tales of Mystery and Imagination* (1919)
Of all the illustrators, perhaps it is Clarke who has come closest to evoking the delirious claustrophobia and frightening inventiveness of “Poe-...
 #OTD #EdgarAllanPoe
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It's #InternationalCoffeeDay! Celebrate with a read of @drmatthewgreen's essay on the halcyon days of the 17th and 18th-century London coffeehouse, a haven for caffeine-fuelled debate and innovation which helped to shape the modern world:
The Public Domain Review
The Lost World of the London Coffeehouse
In contrast to today's rather mundane spawn of coffeehouse chains, the London of the 17th and 18th century was home to an eclectic and thriving...
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Scene representing #October, from the 15th-century Très Riches Heures — taking place at what would now be the centre of Paris (a block or two south of l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts). More here:
The Public Domain Review
Labors of the Months from the Très Riches Heures
Images representing the months from probably the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century.
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#OnThisDay in 1791, the first performance of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Pictured here the magnificent set design for “The Hall of Stars” from Act 1, Scene 6, designed by the German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. (Buy a print of it here:
The Public Domain Review
The Hall of Stars, a Design for The Magic Flute – Product
Magnificent set design for "The Hall of Stars" in the Palace of the Queen of the Night, from Act 1, Scene 6 of Mozart's opera <em>The Magic Flute</...
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Born #onthisday in 1547, Miguel de Cervantes, author of one of the most illustrated books of all time, #DonQuixote. Read Rachel Schmidt on how the varying approaches to illustrating it have reflected + impacted its reading through the centuries:
The Public Domain Review
Picturing Don Quixote
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes, author of one of the best-loved and most frequently illustrated books in...
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From 1969 to 2008 John Margolies photographed the eccentric roadside architecture and ephemera of the US. @librarycongress bought the lot, a total of 11,710 colour slides, and lifted all copyright restrictions on them. Here's our highlights:
The Public Domain Review
John Margolies’ Photographs of Roadside America
Remarkable collection of photographs documenting the eccentric roadside architecture and ephemera of America.
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A year before his death, the artist Howard Pyle set off for Italy, leaving unfinished on his Delaware easel his final painting *The Mermaid* — a profoundly haunting work of art:
The Public Domain Review
Howard Pyle's *The Mermaid* (1910)
A year before his death, the artist Howard Pyle set off for Italy, leaving unfinished on his Delaware easel his final painting *The Mermaid* — a...
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Alison Wishart from @AWMemorial explores the remarkable photographic record left by WW1 soldiers fighting at Gallipoli. Made possible by the birth of Kodak's portable camera, the photos give a rare and intimate portrait of the soldier's day-to-day life:
The Public Domain Review
Gallipoli: Through the Soldier’s Lens
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL - To mark the 100 years since Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) fought the Gallipoli campaign of WW1, Alison Wi...
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Blue root, from “Erbario”, a wonderful 15th-century herbal from northern Italy. More here:
The Public Domain Review
Erbario: a 15th-century Herbal from Northern Italy
Stylised herbal including plants with faces and dragon-like roots, in addition to more naturalistic depictions.
 Also available as a print in our online shop:
The Public Domain Review
Blue Root – Product
Anthopomorphised root vegetable from a wonderful 15th-century herbal hailing from northern Italy, mostly likely the Veneto. (Penn Libraries)
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