Front cover to Flatland (1884) by Edwin Abbott Abbott, who died #onthisday in 1926. Read Ian Stewart's introduction to the strange tale of A. Square's geometric adventures, the first ever book that could be described as “mathematical fiction”

The Public Domain Review

Aspiring to a Higher Plane

In 1884 Edwin Abbott Abbott published Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, perhaps the first ever book that could be described as "mathemat...

#otd

Listen to a series of recordings made by the ethnographer James Mooney in 1894 of different Native American Ghost Dance songs. According to the Library Of Congress notes that accompany the recordings, the performances are probably by Mooney himself —

The Public Domain Review

James Mooney’s Ghost Dance Recordings (1894)

Etching of a Sámi drum from the Dutch edition of Johannes Schefferus’ *Lapponia* (1682). Made of reindeer-hide such drums were used to support divinatory, trance-like states, allowing the shaman (noaidi) to leave his body. More in our latest post:

The Public Domain Review

Etching of a Sámi Drum from the Dutch Edition of Johannes Schefferus’ *Lapponia* (1682)

A shamanistic tool as described by one of the earliest studies of the indigenous peoples of Fennoscandia.

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,...

#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:

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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

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...

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:

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Labors of the Months from the Très Riches Heures

Images representing the months from probably the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century.

#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:

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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</...

) #OTD

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...

#otd

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.