The Public Domain Review
@publicdomainrev.bsky.social
Online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas. Featuring 300+ essays — ✍️ submissions welcome. We also have a mighty fine prints shop.
https://publicdomainreview.org
https://publicdomainreview.org
Entering the US public domain in 2026: Langston Hughes' Not Without Laughter.
More info behind window 5 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 5 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
December 5, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Entering the US public domain in 2026: Langston Hughes' Not Without Laughter.
More info behind window 5 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 5 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
John Bevis explores the various feats of cunning and subterfuge undertaken by the Kearton brothers — among the very first professional wildlife photographers — in their pioneering attempts to get ever closer to their subjects: publicdomainreview.org/essay/s...
December 4, 2025 at 8:45 PM
John Bevis explores the various feats of cunning and subterfuge undertaken by the Kearton brothers — among the very first professional wildlife photographers — in their pioneering attempts to get ever closer to their subjects: publicdomainreview.org/essay/s...
"Woodblocks in Wonderland: The Japanese Fairy Tale Series", @chrisdecou on how a pioneering cross-cultural endeavour gave rise to a magnificent chapter in the history of children’s publishing: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/woodblocks-in-wonderland-the-japanese-fairy-tale-series
December 4, 2025 at 5:48 PM
"Woodblocks in Wonderland: The Japanese Fairy Tale Series", @chrisdecou on how a pioneering cross-cultural endeavour gave rise to a magnificent chapter in the history of children’s publishing: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/woodblocks-in-wonderland-the-japanese-fairy-tale-series
Pages from Ruth McEnery Stuart and Albert Bigelow Paine’s Gobolinks (1896). More on the microgenre of "inkblot books" in our latest books post, including the original in the genre, Justinus Kerner's Kleksographien (1857) — https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/inkblot-books
December 4, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Pages from Ruth McEnery Stuart and Albert Bigelow Paine’s Gobolinks (1896). More on the microgenre of "inkblot books" in our latest books post, including the original in the genre, Justinus Kerner's Kleksographien (1857) — https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/inkblot-books
Illustrations of snow crystals as "actually observed and sketched with the aid of the microscope”, from the 1863 book Snowflakes: a Chapter from the Book of Nature — https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/illustrations-of-snowflakes-1863/
December 4, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Illustrations of snow crystals as "actually observed and sketched with the aid of the microscope”, from the 1863 book Snowflakes: a Chapter from the Book of Nature — https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/illustrations-of-snowflakes-1863/
Entering the US public domain in 2026: Nan Shepherd's The Weatherhouse.
More info behind window 4 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 4 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
December 4, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Entering the US public domain in 2026: Nan Shepherd's The Weatherhouse.
More info behind window 4 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 4 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
#Onthisday in 1894, at the age of 44, the author Robert Louis Stevenson died. Ten years later a collection of excerpts from his writings was published titled The Wisdom of Robert Louis Stevenson. Read it here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-wisdom-of-robert-louis-stevenson-1904 #OTD
December 3, 2025 at 3:16 PM
#Onthisday in 1894, at the age of 44, the author Robert Louis Stevenson died. Ten years later a collection of excerpts from his writings was published titled The Wisdom of Robert Louis Stevenson. Read it here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-wisdom-of-robert-louis-stevenson-1904 #OTD
Born #onthisday in 1684, the Norwegian writer Ludvig Holberg. Read about his satirical #scifi/fantasy novel Niels Klim’s Journey Under the Ground detailing the adventures of its hero in a utopian society existing beneath the earth's surface publicdomainreview.org/essay/s... #otd
December 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Born #onthisday in 1684, the Norwegian writer Ludvig Holberg. Read about his satirical #scifi/fantasy novel Niels Klim’s Journey Under the Ground detailing the adventures of its hero in a utopian society existing beneath the earth's surface publicdomainreview.org/essay/s... #otd
It's #GivingTuesday and we've just launched our Fundraiser! Please do consider sending something our way, we're a not-for-profit reliant on donations to stay afloat. You can give a one-off gift or become a Friend of PDR and get our special postcards packs https://publicdomainreview.org/support
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 PM
It's #GivingTuesday and we've just launched our Fundraiser! Please do consider sending something our way, we're a not-for-profit reliant on donations to stay afloat. You can give a one-off gift or become a Friend of PDR and get our special postcards packs https://publicdomainreview.org/support
Wonderful series of photographs offering a glimpse into female friendship in Maine, ca. 1898: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/babb-photographs
December 2, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Wonderful series of photographs offering a glimpse into female friendship in Maine, ca. 1898: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/babb-photographs
Our End-of-Year Fundraiser is launched! https://publicdomainreview.org/support
We're a not-for-profit project reliant on reader donations to stay afloat. Please do give if you can! Available to donors, our themed postcard packs: upcoming theme on... ATTENTION.
#GivingTuesday
We're a not-for-profit project reliant on reader donations to stay afloat. Please do give if you can! Available to donors, our themed postcard packs: upcoming theme on... ATTENTION.
#GivingTuesday
December 2, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Our End-of-Year Fundraiser is launched! https://publicdomainreview.org/support
We're a not-for-profit project reliant on reader donations to stay afloat. Please do give if you can! Available to donors, our themed postcard packs: upcoming theme on... ATTENTION.
#GivingTuesday
We're a not-for-profit project reliant on reader donations to stay afloat. Please do give if you can! Available to donors, our themed postcard packs: upcoming theme on... ATTENTION.
#GivingTuesday
Front cover to The Cubies’ ABC, an alphabet book published in 1913 devoted to a satirical takedown of Impressionists, Cubists, Futurists, and all other pretenders to the crown of Art. More here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-cubies-abc-1913
December 2, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Front cover to The Cubies’ ABC, an alphabet book published in 1913 devoted to a satirical takedown of Impressionists, Cubists, Futurists, and all other pretenders to the crown of Art. More here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-cubies-abc-1913
Entering the US public domain in 2026: Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons.
More info behind window 2 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 2 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
December 2, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Entering the US public domain in 2026: Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons.
More info behind window 2 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 2 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
Final day to get your orders in for T-shirts and mugs if you need them delivered before December 25th. All proceeds go to support to the PDR!
T-shirts: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/t-shirts/
Mugs: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/mugs/
T-shirts: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/t-shirts/
Mugs: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/mugs/
December 1, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Final day to get your orders in for T-shirts and mugs if you need them delivered before December 25th. All proceeds go to support to the PDR!
T-shirts: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/t-shirts/
Mugs: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/mugs/
T-shirts: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/t-shirts/
Mugs: https://publicdomainreview.org/shop/mugs/
Entering the US public domain in 2026: William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.
More info behind window 1 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 1 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
December 1, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Entering the US public domain in 2026: William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.
More info behind window 1 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
More info behind window 1 of our advent-style countdown calendar for works entering the #publicdomain on Jan 1st: https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2026/ #PDin2026
Between 1905 and 1911, the sheet music covers of Gotham-Attucks Co. — a song-publisher managed by some of the most famous Black writers and performers of the day — revolutionised how Black popular music was shown to the public: publicdomainreview.org/collection/g...
December 1, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Between 1905 and 1911, the sheet music covers of Gotham-Attucks Co. — a song-publisher managed by some of the most famous Black writers and performers of the day — revolutionised how Black popular music was shown to the public: publicdomainreview.org/collection/g...
The bloody throes of a boar hunt as a medieval fortress rises like derelict tower blocks in the distance? Must be the festive month of December! The last entry in the Labors of the Months section from the Très Riches Heures manuscript, 15th century: publicdomainreview.org/collection/l...
December 1, 2025 at 12:46 PM
The bloody throes of a boar hunt as a medieval fortress rises like derelict tower blocks in the distance? Must be the festive month of December! The last entry in the Labors of the Months section from the Très Riches Heures manuscript, 15th century: publicdomainreview.org/collection/l...
What will enter the #publicdomain in 2026? Each day through December we’ll open a window in our advent-style calendar to reveal our highlights! https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2025/
(+ for the impatient/curious we've links to lists of new entrants.)
(+ for the impatient/curious we've links to lists of new entrants.)
December 1, 2025 at 8:03 AM
What will enter the #publicdomain in 2026? Each day through December we’ll open a window in our advent-style calendar to reveal our highlights! https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2025/
(+ for the impatient/curious we've links to lists of new entrants.)
(+ for the impatient/curious we've links to lists of new entrants.)
Page from the remarkable Model Book of Calligraphy (1561–96), a collaboration across many decades between a master scribe, the Croatian-born Georg Bocskay, and Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel. More here: buff.ly/2...
Prints for sale here: publicdomainreview.org/shop/fine-art-prints/artist/j...
Prints for sale here: publicdomainreview.org/shop/fine-art-prints/artist/j...
November 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Page from the remarkable Model Book of Calligraphy (1561–96), a collaboration across many decades between a master scribe, the Croatian-born Georg Bocskay, and Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel. More here: buff.ly/2...
Prints for sale here: publicdomainreview.org/shop/fine-art-prints/artist/j...
Prints for sale here: publicdomainreview.org/shop/fine-art-prints/artist/j...
#SundayReads: Miya Tokumitsu on a group of French artist's making "clichés-verre" and the friendship which lay at the heart of their output: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/cliche-verre-and-friendship-in-19th-century-france/
November 30, 2025 at 5:45 PM
#SundayReads: Miya Tokumitsu on a group of French artist's making "clichés-verre" and the friendship which lay at the heart of their output: https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/cliche-verre-and-friendship-in-19th-century-france/
Happy birthday Mark Twain, born #onthisday in 1835. The best known of his books is Huckleberry Finn, not so well known is Jap Herron which, according to a woman named Emily Grant Hutchings, he dictated from beyond the grave via a ouija board... publicdomainreview.org/collection/j... #OTD
November 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Happy birthday Mark Twain, born #onthisday in 1835. The best known of his books is Huckleberry Finn, not so well known is Jap Herron which, according to a woman named Emily Grant Hutchings, he dictated from beyond the grave via a ouija board... publicdomainreview.org/collection/j... #OTD
#OnThisDay in 1900, Oscar Wilde died. Read our essay on the claims of plagiarism that dogged his career, particularly as regards his relationship with that other great figure of late-C19th Decadence, the American painter James McNeill Whistler: publicdomainreview.org/essay/o... #OTD
November 30, 2025 at 12:46 PM
#OnThisDay in 1900, Oscar Wilde died. Read our essay on the claims of plagiarism that dogged his career, particularly as regards his relationship with that other great figure of late-C19th Decadence, the American painter James McNeill Whistler: publicdomainreview.org/essay/o... #OTD
Journal of a Few Months’ Residence in Portugal (1847) is a lively travelogue by William Wordsworth’s daughter Dora, recording her observations of the Iberian peninsula: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/dorothy-wordsworths-journal-of-a-few-months-residence-in-portugal-1847
November 29, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Journal of a Few Months’ Residence in Portugal (1847) is a lively travelogue by William Wordsworth’s daughter Dora, recording her observations of the Iberian peninsula: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/dorothy-wordsworths-journal-of-a-few-months-residence-in-portugal-1847
Twenty-eight Years of Co-partnership at Guise (1908) — An admiring account of Jean-Baptiste Godin’s factory, social housing, and workers’ co-operative in the French town of Guise: https://buff.ly/3uhzHLm
November 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Twenty-eight Years of Co-partnership at Guise (1908) — An admiring account of Jean-Baptiste Godin’s factory, social housing, and workers’ co-operative in the French town of Guise: https://buff.ly/3uhzHLm
Sketches in Bedlam (1823) — a book gathering together glimpses into the personalities and stories of more than 140 mental patients confined to the Bethlem Hospital in the early part of the 19th century: http://buff.ly/1olkDH0
November 29, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Sketches in Bedlam (1823) — a book gathering together glimpses into the personalities and stories of more than 140 mental patients confined to the Bethlem Hospital in the early part of the 19th century: http://buff.ly/1olkDH0