Poster for the “Rossow Midgets”, printed by H.C. Miner Lithography Co, c. 1897. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LOC #C257486.

Okay, I’m still a little on the dragonfly kick. A search of dragonfly-themed graphics lead me also to this one – a performing arts poster from c. 1897. It advertises the “Rossow Midgets” featuring “Mlle. Chalet – The Bounding Queen”. I think the depiction of her fitting on top of a dragonfly is a bit fanciful, but is a fun graphic none-the-less.

In the 19th c., many dwarfs and midgets and other ‘short people’ (no disrespect meant in the term!) turned to displaying themselves as oddities to make a living. While we might find the idea wrong or degrading – and it likely was degrading  – it was one of the few means of making a living available to them at the time. This image, however, seems more fanciful than anything else – presenting the performers almost as faeries (fairies).

I found this Victorian gem in the Library of Congress digital collections. Click on the image to view it /download it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

“Kabocha ni tonbou” (Dragonfly and pumpkin), woodblock print by Gekko Ogata (1859-1920), between 1890 and 1920. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LOC #LC-DIG-jpd-09138.

I was at my daughter’s soccer practice a couple of days ago, and the field was full of dragonflies flitting around. I was sitting in the grass on the edge of the practice field, and dragonflies kept flying by at eye level.

So I thought I would share a dragonfly-themed graphic with you all today. This one is a full-color woodblock print made between 1890 and 1920 by the Japanese artist Gekkõ Ogata (1859-1920). [Okay, that's supposed to be a straight line over the 'o' but I can't find that option in the special characters....] It’s called ‘Kabocha ni tonbou’ which means ‘Dragonfly and pumpkin’. Click on the graphic to view it full-sized. I found this beauty in the Library of Congress digital collections.

Enjoy!

Peace,

Bekka

‘L’Empereur’ by James Carroll Beckwith (1852-1917). From the Public Domain Graphics email list.

James Carroll Beckwith was an American painter, who studied at the Chicago Academy of Design until it was destroyed by fire in 1871. He then studied in New York at the National Academy of Design. Beckwith traveled to Paris in 1873 and stayed there 5 years; it was during that time that he painted this picture of the sun setting on a statue.

Beckwith lived and worked mostly in the United States, where he was a well-known, successful, and often exhibited artist. He did return to Europe several times, including a four year stay in Italy from 1910-1914. He died of a heart attack at age 66 in New York City in 1917.

Click on the image to see it / down load it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

Cats, from _Quadrupeds_ by Mayne Reid (1818-1883), published before 1883. Illustrated by William Harvey. From Project Gutenberg e-books #23576.

This is an illustration from a fun book I found at Project Gutenberg, full of lovely illustrations of animals. The full title is Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where They Are Found: A Book of Zoology for Boys, by Mayne Reid (1818-1883). No date of publication is given, but since Reid died in 1883 I am assuming that the book was published before then. The illustrator was William Harvey.

I decided on cats because after I cleaned my sons’ room to the walls so we could put in bunk beds (I found 2 shoe boxes full of legos under their beds!); our cats have been playing crazily in the cleaned room and climbing all over the bunk beds. So cats were on my mind.

I know it’s silly, but well, I’m sometimes a very silly person. Be sure to click on the image to see it / download it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

‘The Signing of the Declaration of Independence’, by John Trumbull (1756-1843), 1819. From Wikipedia Commons.

Happy 4th of July!!

In keeping with the holiday, today’s Daily Public Domain image is of a painting by John Trumbull (1756-1843). It shows an idealized gathering of the signers of the Declaration (when in actuality not all of them signed on the same day). There are two versions of this painting, both by Trumbull. This one, which is slightly rougher and less polished, hangs in the Yale University Art Gallery, in New Haven, CT. The other hangs in the U.S. Capitol building.

Click on the image to see it / download it full-sized. I found this image on Wikipedia Commons.

And have a safe and happy 4th!

Peace,

Bekka

Cornell baseball player, 1908. Illustration by Edward Penfield (1866-1925). From Wikipedia Commons.

It’s that time of year again. Baseball is the only spectator sport I watch (or listen to on the radio) with any regularity. I even have a fantasy baseball team – the Plymouth (Mass) Rocs. [Okay bad pun....] I’m a big Cleveland Indians fan. Alas, neither my fantasy team nor my favorite team are perfoming up to my hopes, but that’s ‘par for the course’ as they say.< /div>

Futuro house in Aspholmen, Sweden. Photo by ‘Sebastian F’, released to public domain by creator. From Wikipedia Commons.

Here’s an image I got from Wikipedia of another Futuro house. This one is in Sweden. Cute, isn’t it? The photographer (‘Sebastian F’) has released this photo into the public domain. Feel free to use it!

Wikipedia also an article on Futuro houses, with a couple of more photos of other Futuro houses and some external links.

Click on the image to see it / download it full-sized.

‘Fourth order lighthouse at Penfield Reef, Long Island Sound’. From _Illustrated Science for Boys and Girls_, 1881. Author unknown. Project Gutenberg ebook.

Since I just came back from a vacation in Delaware and Maryland, this 1881 illustration of a lighthouse seemed appropriate. Lighthouses of this period used Fresnel lenses, invented in 1822. These are the distinct ‘rippled’ lenses in 19th c. lighthouses that focused 85% of the lamp’s light (compared to the pre-Fresnel 20%). Though they weren’t introduced in the US until the 1850s, by 1860 all US lighthouses had them.

Fresnel lenses were ranked in ‘orders’ – with ‘first order’ being the largest, followed by ‘second order’, and so on down to ‘sixth order’. The caption of the illustration refers to it being a ‘fourth order’ lens. In modern lighthouses, Fresnel lenses are often replaced with modern alternatives that require less maintenance.

Click on the image to see it / download it full-sized.

Peace,

Bekka

Illustration from _Theosophie & Alchemie_, by Michael Maier and Johann Theodor de Bry, 1687. From Wikipedia Commons.

Today is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (and the Winter Solstice for our friends in Australia and other points in the Southern Hemisphere). Since for me it is summer, and the longest day of the year, I thought this illustration from a 1687 book showing the Sun and the Earth was a good one for today. Mind you, Theosophie & Alchemie is not likely a book on astronomy, but the illustration is still quite servicable none-the-less.

Wikipedia Commons, where I got this from, says this illustration “was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Deutsche Fotothek of the Saxon State Library (SLUB) as part of a cooperation project.” It is public domain due to age (being over 300 years old!).

Click on the image to see it / download it full-sized.

Happy Solstice!

Peace,

Bekka