Animal, Vegetable, Lamb: The Zoophyte from Tartary — The Public Domain Review
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the vegetable lamb leapt off the pages of natural historical description and into Baroque cabinets of curiosity. Preserved specimens from Tartary began appearing in…
Read more »Covers from *Cerîde-i Adliye*, a Turkish Law Journal (1924–26) — The Public Domain Review
Their profession was relatively new. Until the nineteenth century, justice in the Ottoman Empire — as in all Muslim states at the time — had operated largely through the auspices…
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The Launch of Our Mid-Year Fundraiser!
Our Mid-Year Fundraiser is launched, and the new postcards theme will be Soil. Source link
Read more »Genevieve Stebbins’ *Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression* (1886) — The Public Domain Review
Every possible element of a gesture or expression was deconstructed and fit into this rubric, with specific exercises for the “Fingers, Hand, Fore arm, Entire arm, Head, Torso, Foot, Lower…
Read more »Venetian Bridge Brawls in 17th and 18th Century Art — The Public Domain Review
Of course, bridges also simply offer a good view: for combatants, for spectators, and ultimately for artists. By the seventeenth century, the ritualized violence of the battagliole had become one…
Read more »The Art of Kite Flying (1430–1929) — The Public Domain Review
Their capacity for flight is magical, almost animate, reflected in the names by which they are known around the world. In Greek, they are χαρταετοί, paper eagles, and the Germans…
Read more »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…
Read more »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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