Louis Pope Gratacap, A Curator in Lost Worlds
Arguably the first work of fiction to feature a Tyrannosaurus rex, Louis Pope Gratacap’s The New Northland (1915) is at once kaleidoscopic, mischievous, fascinating — and exhausting. Richard Fallon explores…
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Diagrams for Travel from the *Qanoon-e-Islam* (1832) — The Public Domain Review
While vedic astrology offers many tools for calculating the propitious days for all sorts of things, these charts and mnemonics for travelers turn out to be an even more complex…
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Choice Notes on History from *Notes and Queries* (1858) — The Public Domain Review
In an age where a “Great Men of History” school was emerging, it’s no surprise Choice Notes focuses on the peculiarities of the reigns of British monarchs. Areas of interest…
Read more »Luggage « Object Lessons
You can’t think about travel without thinking about luggage. And baggage has baggage. Susan Harlan’s Luggage takes readers on a journey with the suitcases that support, accessorize, and tour…
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Peruvianizing Peru: Covers from *Amauta* Magazine (1926–30) — The Public Domain Review
“This magazine . . . does not represent a group. It represents, rather, a movement, a spirit” — or perhaps a “specter”? Whatever the preferred translation, the intention was clear:…
Read more »Train « Object Lessons
Triggering severe nostalgia and denoting adventure, mystery, and glamour, the passenger train is still portrayed as the most romantic mode of transportation in history. But what does…
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“Worthless Idiot, Donkey Head”: Parodies of Pedantry on the Renaissance Stage — The Public Domain Review
The pedant quickly became one of the most popular caricatures on the stage. By 1600, almost fifty new plays featured a pedant — some by authors who, like Bibbiena, were…
Read more »Pixel « Object Lessons
The logic of the pixel existed millenia before the technology to light it up. That logic is simple: dots arranged carefully can produce a picture. Need a clearer picture? Add…
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Archie G. Norcross’ Maine Forest Fire Maps (1918–22) — The Public Domain Review
In the summer of 1956, the Beat writer Jack Kerouac ascended the North Cascade Mountains, climbing up through the glacial crests of Washington State to Desolation Peak, where he would…
Read more »Fog
Fog, a cloud that touches the ground, marks the fuzzy and shifting boundary of just how much (or little) we are willing to tolerate the natural world. Viewed from beyond the fog line,…
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