|
Journal of the conversations of Lord Byron noted during a residence with his lordship at Pisa, in the years 1821 and 1822 by Thomas Medwin; 1824; Henry Colburn, London. On 17th May 1824, a month after Lord Byron died, his memoirs were burnt in the upstairs drawing room of a house on Albemarle Street,...
Read More »
How I killed the tiger being an account of my encounter with a royal Bengal tiger, with an appendix containing some general information about India; 1902; Smith’s Print.and Pub. Agency, London. How I killed the tiger; being an account of my encounter with a royal Bengal tiger, with an appendix containing some general information...
Read More »
Bible symbols, designed and arranged to stimulate a greater interest in the study of the Bible by both young and old. The choicest passages of God’s word put in the fascinating garb of pictures by Frank Beard and others. Text prepared and arranged by Martha Van Marter; 1908; Hertel, Jenkins Co., Chicago. As the...
Read More »
At the time of his death in 2001 at the age of 57, the German writer W.G. Sebald was cited by many critics as a future winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. It was his book The Rings of Saturn, written in 1995 (translated into English in 1998), which went a long way...
Read More »
Magic: stage illusions and scientific diversions, including trick photography, compiled and edited by Albert A. Hopkins, with an introduction by Henry Ridgely Evans; 1897; Low, London. A massive late 19th century book on magic and stage illusions including a section on trick photography. The book includes more than 400 (mostly) magnificently surreal illustrations and...
Read More »
The Hasheesh Eater: being passages from the life of a Pythagorean, by Fitz Hugh Ludlow; 1857; Harper & Bros., New York. The Hasheesh Eater: being passages from the life of a Pythagorean is an autobiographical book by the American novelist and journalist Fitz Hugh Ludlow in which he describes his altered states of consciousness...
Read More »
Appointed as the expedition’s official botanist, a 25 year old Joseph Banks travelled on Captain Cook’s first great voyage to the South Pacific in 1768. After landing on the island of Tahiti, Banks was soon to become an invaluable member of the crew by virtue of the friendly relations he struck up with the...
Read More »
Explanatory notes of a pack of Cavalier playing cards, temp. Charles II. forming a complete political satire of the commonwealth, by Edmund Goldsmid; 1886; E. & G. Goldsmid, Edinburgh. A facsimile with explanations of a “very curious Pack of Cards” which used to belong to Lord Nelson and date from around 1660. The cards...
Read More »
Vaught’s Practical Character Reader, by L. A. Vaught; 1902; L. A. Vaught, Chicago. A book on phrenology by L. A. Vaught published in 1902, jam-packed with strange theory and a whole host of strange illustrations. As he confidently states in his Preface: The purpose of this book is to acquaint all with the elements...
Read More »
On the Writing of the Insane, with illustrations, by G. Mackenzie Bacon, M.D.; 1870; John Churchill and Sons, London. A book of observations on the peculiarities of writing styles as shown by asylum patients. G. Mackenzie Bacon was a medical superintendant at Cambridgshire County Asylum (now Fulbourn Hospital) located near Cambridge, England. As well...
Read More »
Endless Amusement, a collection of nearly 400 entertaining experiments in various branches of science, including acoustics, arithmetic, chemistry, electricity, hydraulics, hydrostatics, magnetism, mechanics, optics, wonders of the air pump, all the popular tricks and changes of the cards, &c., &c., &c.; 1820; Thorp and Burch, and Thomas Boys, London. As it states on the...
Read More »
Devises et Emblemes Anciennes & Modernes, Tirees de Plus Celebres Auteurs; 1699; Kroniger & Göbel, Augspurg. Beautiful 17th century book showing various emblems with mottos described in German, Latin, French and Italian, and the emblems themselves described only in German. Some highlights include a floating stone, a lion being suspended over an empty throne,...
Read More »
Passing English of the Victorian era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase, by J. Redding Ware; 1909; Routledge, London. Passing English of the Victorian era, a dictionary of heterodox English, slang and phrase is complied and written by James Redding Ware, the pseudonym of Andrew Forrester the British writer who created one...
Read More »
The six voyages of John Baptista Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, translated by John Phillips; R.L. and M.P., London. To give it its full title – The six voyages of John Baptista Tavernier, a noble man of France now living, through Turky into Persia and the East-Indies, finished in the year 1670 giving an account of...
Read More »
A Christmas Sermon, by Robert Louis Stevenson; 1900; C. Scribner’s Sons, New York. A Christmas Sermon by Robert Louis Stevenson written while he convalesced from a lung ailment at Lake Sarnac in the winter of 1887. In the short text he meditates on the questions of death, morality and man’s main task in life...
Read More »
In 1897, Dr. Philip O’Hanlon, a coroner’s assistant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was asked a question by his then eight-year-old daughter, Virginia, which many a parent has been asked before: whether Santa Claus really exists. O’Hanlon deferred. He suggested Virginia wrote asking the question to one of New York’s most prominent newspapers at...
Read More »
Sir Isaac Newton’s Daniel and the Apocalypse with an introductory study of the nature and the cause of unbelief, of miracles and prophecy, by Sir William Whitla; 1922; Murray, London. Best known for his advancements in scientific thought Sir Isaac Newton was also big into his apocalyptic prophecy. Largely unknown and unpublished documents, evidently...
Read More »
With December 25th fast approaching we have put together a little collection of entries for Christmas Day from an eclectic mix of different diaries spanning five centuries, from 1599 to 1918. Amid famed diarists such as the wife-beating Samuel Pepys, the distinctly non-festive John Adams, and the rhapsodic Thoreau, there are a sprinkling of...
Read More »
Prison diary of Michael Dougherty, late Co. B, 13th., Pa., cavalry. While confined in Pemberton, Barrett’s, Libby, Andersonville and other southern prisons. Sole survivor of 127 of his regiment captured the same time, 122 dying in Andersonville, by C. A. Dougherty; 1908; Bristol, Pennsylvania. The diary of Michael Dougherty, a young Irish soldier in...
Read More »
Snowflakes: a chapter from the book of nature; 1863; American tract society, Boston. A collection of poems, extracts, anecdotes and reflections on the theme of snow and the snowflake (most often in a religious direction). Interspersed amongst the texts are a series of beautiful plates showing the shapes and structure of the ice-crystal –...
Read More »
Scientific Amusements, translated from the French of Gaston Tissandier. By Henry Frith ; fully illustrated; 1890; Ward, Lock & co., in London, New York. Harry Houdini’s copy of Scientific Amusements left by his estate to the Library of Congress in 1927. From the Preface: Young people of both sexes, and persons of all ages...
Read More »
Stevenson’s baby book, being the record of the sayings and doings of Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson, son of Thomas Stevenson, C.E. and Margaret Isabella Balfour or Stevenson; 1922; John Howell / J.H. Nash, San Francisco . A remarkable record of the first few years of author Robert Louis Stevenson’s life, as noted down by...
Read More »
“Description of the Brain of Mr. Charles Babbage, F.R.S”, by V. Horsley in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character (1896-1934); 1909; Royal Society of London. Charles Babbage, (1791–1871) was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable...
Read More »
Artificial Fireworks, by John Maskall; 1785; (no publisher information). Beautiful hand-written and illustrated treatise on firework design and manufacture, including ‘blue-prints’ for the devices and explosive recipes. Housed at: Internet Archive, donated by the | From: The Getty Underlying Work: PD Worldwide | Digital Copy: Pending Clarification Download: PDF | Torrent HELP TO KEEP...
Read More »
Dennison’s bogie book, by Dennison manufacturing co.; 1920; Dennison manufacturing co., Framingham, Massachusetts.] Decoration, costume and party suggestions from 1920 for the night of Halloween, that one time (according to the book) “of all the year when an opportunity is supposed to be given for looking into the future and having one’s fate settled...
Read More »
Kunstrichtige Schreibart allerhand Versalie oder AnfangsBuchstabe der teütschen, lateinischen und italianischen Schrifften aus unterschiedlichen Meistern der edlen Schreibkunst zusammen getragen; 1655; Bey Paulus Fürsten Kunsthändlern daselbst, Nürnberg. A 17th century German book on the art of writing. The full title (in English) reads The Proper Art of Writing: a compilation of all sorts of...
Read More »
The art of invigorating and prolonging life, by food, clothes, air, exercise, wine, sleep, &c and peptic precepts, pointing out agreeable and effectual methods to prevent and relieve indigestion, and to regulate and strengthen the action of the stomach and bowels: to which is added, the pleasure of making a will, by William Kitchiner;...
Read More »
Curiosities of Puritan nomenclature, by Charles W. Bardsley; 1888; Chatto and Windus, London. A fascinating look at some of the more bizarre names given to children during the 17th century in England. Among the names explored are “From-above”, “Free-gift” & “More-fruit” for unexpected additions to families; “Humiliation”, “Abstinence” & “Sorry-for-sin” to express those qualities...
Read More »
The Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale; 1535; Merten de Keyser, Antwerp. The Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale and published in 1535, was the first complete Modern English translation of the Bible (not just the Old Testament or New Testament), and the first complete printed translation into English. The later editions (folio and quarto)...
Read More »
Cartoon portraits and biographical sketches of men of the day, the drawings by Frederick Waddy; 1873; Tinsley Brothers, London. A book of caricatures of famous “Men of the Day” (as was the case in 1873) – including the likes of Darwin, Swinburne, Tennyson and Browning – drawn by cartoonist Frederick Watty and accompanied by...
Read More »
The Fifth Olympiad: the Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912; 1913; Wahlstrom & Widstrand, Stockholm. The official report of the Olympic Games held in Stockholm in 1912. As exhaustive account of all there is to know about the 5th Olympiad including all the bureaucratic wranglings and preparations for the Games, the...
Read More »
An exact and authentic narrative, of the events which took place in Baltimore, on the 27th and 28th of July last. Carefully collected from some of the sufferers and eyewitnesses. To which is added a narrative of Mr. John Thomson, one of the unfortunate sufferers; 1812; Printed for the purchasers A small book giving...
Read More »
The dodo and its kindred or, The history, affinities, and osteology of the dodo, solitaire, and other extinct birds of the islands Mauritius, Rodriguez and Bourbon, by H. E. Strickland and A.G. Melville; 1848; Reeve, Benham, and Reeve, London. This seminal 1848 monograph sets out to separate the myth from reality regarding perhaps the...
Read More »
Descriptive illustrated catalogue of the sixty-eight competitive designs for the great tower for London compiled and edited by Fred. C. Lynde for the Tower Company; 1890; Industries, London . A catalogue showing the entries for a competition to design a new tower for London. The year previous, 1889, saw the hugely successful Eiffel Tower...
Read More »
Fancy dresses described or, What to wear at fancy balls, by Ardern Holt; 1887; Debenham & Freebody, Wyman & Sons, London. A comprehensive guide to all things fancy dress, with detailed descriptions of costume ideas, from the more abstract such as “Air”, “Africa” “Dew” and “Five o Clock Tea”, to the more specific in...
Read More »
What to draw and how to draw it, by E.G. Lutz; 1913; Dodd & Mead, New York. Housed at: Internet Archive | From: New York Public Library Underlying Work: PD Worldwide | Digital Copy: No Additional Rights Download: PDF | Torrent Drawing made easy a helpful book for young artists; the way to begin...
Read More »
A History of Mourning, by Richard Davey; 1890; Jay’s, London. A history of mourning, burial customs, and funerary rites. “Then occurred an event unique in history,” continues this naive contemporary chronicle. “The body of Inez was lifted from the grave, placed on a magnificent throne, and crowned Queen of Portugal. The clergy, the nobility,...
Read More »
Paradise Found, the Cradle of the Human Race at the North Pole – a Study of the Primitive World, by William Fairfield Warren; 1885; Houghton Mifflin, Boston. A book by William Fairfield, the first president of Boston University, placing Atlantis at the North Pole, as well as the Garden of Eden, Mount Meru, Avalon...
Read More »
A Manual of Gesture, embracing a complete system of notation, together with the principles of interpretation and selections for practice, by Albert M. Bacon; 1875; J. C. Buckbee, Chicago. Based heavily on Gilbert Austin’s Chironomia of 1806, this book by Albert. M. Bacon explores the art of hand gestures, particularly in relation to effective...
Read More »
The Whole Booke of Psalmes collected into Englishe metre, by T. Sternhold, W. Whitingham, J. Hopkins, and others, conferred with the Hebrue, with apt notes to them withall; 1584; John Daye, London. Thomas Sternhold published his first, short collection of nineteen Certayn Psalmes between mid-1547 and early 1549. In December of 1549, his posthumous...
Read More »
The Practical Magician and Ventriloquist’s Guide, a Practical Manual of Fireside Magic and Conjuring Illusions, also Containing Complete Instructions for Acquiring & Practising the Art of Ventriloquism; 1876; Hurst & Co., New York Ex. 1. The Suffocated Victim – This was a favorite illustration of Mr. Love, the polyphonist. A large box or close...
Read More »
How to Become a Magician, Containing a Grand Assortment of Magical Illusions as Performed by the Leading Magicians and Wizards of the Day; 1882; F. Tousey, New York A grand assortment of various tricks, illusions, conjurings, deceptions and slights of hand…. The following pages are not intended to make the young reader either a...
Read More »
Memoirs of Count Boruwlaski, containing a sketch of his travels, with an account of his reception at the different courts of Europe, Joseph Boruwlaski; 1820; Andrews, Durham Józef Boruwłaski (1739–1837) was a Polish-born dwarf who toured in European and Turkish courts. Although not a nobleman by birth (the Count in his name did not...
Read More »
Choregraphie, ou, L’art de décrire la dance, par caracteres, figures, et signes démonstratifs avec lesquels on apprend facilement de soy-même toutes sortes de dances: ouvrage tres-utile aux maîtres à dancer & à toutes les personnes qui s’appliquent à la dance, by M. Feuillet, maître de dance; 1701; Chez l’auteur et chez Michel Brunet, Paris....
Read More »
Geometrical Psychology, or, The Science of Representation an Abstract of the Theories and Diagrams of B. W. Betts, by Louisa S. Cook; 1887; G. Redway, London. Geometrical psychology, or, The science of representation: an abstract of the theories and diagrams of B. W. Betts details Benjamin Bett’s remarkable attempts to mathematically model human consciousness...
Read More »
An Account of a Fire-Ball, Seen at Hornsey, by William Hirst, F. R. S. Communicated in a Letter to Samuel Mead, Esq; F. R. S Hirst, in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Vol. 48 Pg 773–776; 1753; Royal Society of London, London “I was then going down the hill adjoining to the...
Read More »
Some Account of a Sheep, Shewed Alive to the Royal Society, in November 1754, Having a Monstrous Horn Growing from His Throat; The Stuffed Skin of Which, with the Horn in Situ, is Now in the Museum of the Society, by James Parsons M. D. and F. R. S. from the Philosophical Transactions of...
Read More »
A Theory of Pure Design – Harmony, Balance, Rhythm; 1907; Houghton Mifflin, Boston. A book detailing the science behind harmony, balance, and rhythm in art. The author, Denman Waldo Ross (1853-1935), was an American painter, art collector, and professor of art at Harvard University. From the preface: The terms and principles of Art have,...
Read More »
Alphabetical Index to Type Faces, by G.A. Davis Printing Company; 1939?; Toronto. An “Alphabetical Index to Type Faces” from the G.A. Davis Printing Company. What it says on the tin, but also generator of bizarre ‘accidental’ sentences such as “Summer-time with outdoor pleasures become flowers with nature”, “Domestic animals are nuisance when a hurry...
Read More »
Hand book of the carnival, containing Mardi-Gras, its ancient and modern observance, by J. W. Madden; 1874; New Orleans. Fascinating little book offering a brilliantly detailed insight into the 19th century New Orleans Mardi-Gras tradition, including a history of the Mistick Krewe of Comus, The Twelfth Night Revellers, and The Knights of Momus. From...
Read More »
Catalogue of Napoleon Relics, Pictures and Other Works of Art and Curiosities, compiled by W.Wheeler; 1901; Cassell, London. Madame Tussaud’s 1901 Catalogue of Napoleon Relics, Pictures and Other Works of Art and Curiosities. Although famous for her wax work models, the Madame Tussaud’s exhibition also featured a weird and wonderful array of historical memorabilia,...
Read More »
Mythical Monsters, by Charles Gould; 1886; W.H. Allen & co., London. An exploration into all beasts fabled, fabricated, fantastical, and fanciful, from across the world, including the Chinese and Japanese Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, and the spate of Sea Serpents sighted off the 19th century New England coast. Housed at: Internet Archive | From: California...
Read More »
Yuletide Entertainments: Christmas recitations, monologues, drills, tableaux, motion songs, exercises, dialogues and plays, suitable for all ages, by Ellen M. Willard; 1910; T. S. Denison & company, Chicago. Christmas recitations, monologues, drills, tableaux, motion songs, exercises, dialogues and plays, suitable for all ages. From the introduction: “It becomes more and more a part of...
Read More »
Uriah Jewett and the sea serpent of Lake Memphemagog, by George C. Merrill; 1917; Newport, Vermont. A very curious little book concerning a poet named Uriah Jewett, a sea serpent, the disappearance of a cheat named Hoyt, and the possible illegitimate child of Prince Arthur born in the forests of Canada. Housed at: Internet...
Read More »
The Eccentric Mirror: Reflecting a Faithful and Interesting Delineation of Male and Female Characters, Ancient and Modern, Collected and re-collected, from the most authentic sources, by G.H. Wilson; 1807; J. Cundee, London Reports on a marvellous menagerie of weird and wonderful characters from the past and Georgian-present, including Daniel Lambert, a gaol keeper and...
Read More »
The Attitudes of Animals in Motion, Illustrated with the Zoopraxiscope, by Eadweard Muybridge; 1882; W.M.Clowes and Sons, London. Published lecture given by the pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge on March 13th 1882 at the Royal Institution in London in front of a sell out audience that included members of the Royal Family, notably the future...
Read More »
Superstitions about animals, by Frank Gibson; 1904; W. Scott publishing co. ltd; London, Newcastle-on-Tyne, New York. Author’s Note: My sole object in writing this little book has been to do something towards arousing a more general interest in a subject which has at no time obtained the attention it deserves. Yet there is no...
Read More »
Hydriotaphia, urne-buriall, or A discourse of the sepulchrall urnes lately found in Norfolk. Together with The garden of Cyrus, or The quincunciall lozenge, or network plantations of the ancients, artificially, naturally, mystically considered. With sundry observations, by Thomas Browne; 1658 (1927); Hen. Brome, London Sir Thomas Browne (19 October 1605 – 19 October 1682),...
Read More »
Napaleon’s Oraculum and Dreambook; 1839; S.N., New York. The Oraculum had been originally discovered in one of the Royal tombs of Egypt during a French military expedition of 1801, and at Napoleon’s request was translated by a famous German scholar and antiquarian. Apparently consulting it “before every important occasion”, the book became one of...
Read More »
Pirates, The Lives and Adventures of Sundry Notorious Pirates, by Captain Charles Johnson and C. Lovat Fraser; 1922; Robert M. McBride and Company, New York. Published in 1922, based on the writings of Captain Charles Johnson from 1735, with additional foreword and illustrations from C.Lovat Fraser. Housed at: Internet Archive | From: New York...
Read More »
The Danger of Premature Interment, by Joseph Taylor; 1816; W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, London. “The Danger of Premature Interment proved from many remarkable instances of people who have recovered after being laid out for dead, and of others entombed alive, for want of being properly examined prior to interment. Also a description of...
Read More »
English As She is Spoke, by Pedro Carolino; 1884; Appleton, New York The book was intended as a Portuguese-English conversational guide or phrase book, but is regarded as a classic source of unintentional humour, as the given English translations are generally completely incoherent. Carolino added Fonseca’s name to the book without the latter knowing...
Read More »
The Book of Topiary, by Charles H. Curtis; 1904; J. Lane, London, New York “The most perfect specimen of topiary work with which we are acquainted is at Levens in Westmoreland. At that place a profusion of yews, hollies, and other evergreens have been transformed into more shapes than Proteus would trouble himself to...
Read More »
Cat and bird stories from the “Spectator”, to which are added sundry anecdotes of horses, donkeys, cows, apes, bears, and other animals, as well as of insects and reptiles, edited by John St. Loe Strachey; 1896; T. Fisher Unwin, London. A sequel to Dog Stories from The Spectator, this book brings us mysteries and...
Read More »
Infant’s cabinet of birds & beasts; 1820; Harvey & Darton, London Housed at: Internet Archive | From: California Digital Library Underlying Work: PD Worldwide | Digital Copy: No Additional Rights Download: PDF | Kindle | EPUB HELP TO KEEP US AFLOAT The Public Domain Review is a not-for-profit project and we rely on support...
Read More »
Castaway on the Auckland Isles: a Narrative of the Wreck of the “Grafton,” from the private journals of Capt. Thos. Musgrave, with a map, and some account of the Aucklands (edited by John J. Schillinglaw); 1865; H.T. Dwight, Melbourne Captain Thomas Musgrave FRGS (10 May 1832 – 7 November 1891) was a British and...
Read More »
The Medical Aspects of Death, and the Medical Aspects of the Human Mind by James Bower Harrison; 1852; Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London A fascinating book containing countless anecdotes relating to strange manners of death with an additional book relating to interesting states of mind. Housed at: Internet Archive | From: California Digital...
Read More »
An account of the late improvements in galvanism with a series of curious and interesting experiments performed before the commissioners of the French National Institute, and repeated lately in the anatomical theatres of London by John Aldini, to which is added, an appendix containing the author’s experiments on the body of a malefactor executed...
Read More »
