Victor Hugo's Les Miserables

Young Cosette sweeping: 1862 drawing for Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. French illustrator Émile Bayard drew this sketch of Cosette for the first edition. It has become emblematic of the entire story, being used in promotional art for various versions of the musical. Date: 1862.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because it's copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1890, are now in the public domain.

This image is also in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris), in this case, Émile-Antoine Bayard (1837-1891), and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from the last day of that year. +sookie tex

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables the novel is usually referred to by its original French title, which can be translated from the French as The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, focusing on the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption.

Original CIA "Argo" poster

Original CIA "Argo" poster with text by Antonio J. Mendez. Poster: This script fit our purpose beautifully, particularly because no uninitiated person could decipher its complicated story line. The script was based on an award-winning sci-fi novel. The producers had also envisioned building a huge set that would later become a major theme park. They had hired a famous comic-strip artist to prepare concepts for the sets. This gave us some good "eyewash" to add to a production portfolio.

We decided to repackage our borrowed script by decorating it with the appropriate logo and title markings. The only copy of the script we needed would be carried by me as a prop to be shown to the Iranians in my role as production manager--and only in the event we were questioned at the airport in Tehran.

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This image is a work of an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

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American bison skulls

A pile of American bison skulls, waiting to be ground for fertilizer. Photograph from the mid-1870s.

This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923.

American bison - An adult measures about nine feet from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail, and thirteen and a half feet to the end of the tail, including the hairs which extent about fifteen inches beyond the vertebras. The female measures about six and a half feet (about two metres) from the muzzle to the insertion of the tail, and about seven feet (two and one sixth metres) to the end of the tail, including the hairs, which extend about ten inches beyond the vertebra.

The height of the male at the highest part of the hump is about five and a half to six feet (about two metres) of the female at the same point about five feet (about one and a half metres). The height of the male at the hips is about four and two-thirds feet (nearly one and a half metres) of the female at the same point about four and a half feet (about one and a third metres). Audubon states the weight of old males to be nearly two thousand pounds, that of the full-grown fat females to be about twelve hundred pounds.

Text via: History of the American bison: bison americanus. Authors: Joel Asaph Allen, Geological Survey (U.S.) Publisher: Govt. print. off., 1877 Original from: the University of Michigan. Digitized: Jun 22, 2007. Length: 145 pages. Subjects: American bison.

Two cats playing with a fish

Two cats playing with a fish (circa 1678-1708) by Jan van Kessel the Younger [Dutch Baroque Era Painter, ca.1654-1708] Medium oil on copper. Dimensions 23.5 × 31 cm (9.3 × 12.2 in)

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because it's copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.

This image is also in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris), in this case,   Jan van Kessel the Younger ca.1654-1708, and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from the last day of that year. +sookie tex

Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial Exhibit

Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial Exhibit - The original smaller statue of the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima in 1945 is on display before auction at Bonhams New York later this month dedicated to World War II artifacts. Most Americans are familiar with the 32-foot-tall Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va. Less well-known is the 12 1/2-foot-tall statue created in just 3 months after the event.

The cast stone monument was erected in Washington, D.C., in front of what is now the Federal Reserve Building on Constitution Avenue. It remained there until it was removed in 1947. The 12 1/2-foot version was returned to de Weldon, who covered it with a tarp behind his studio. It remained there for more than four decades.

Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial Exhibit by DOCTOR FELIX W. de WELDON, USMC: Felix de Weldon was born 12 April 1907, in Vienna, Austria, where he obtained his A.B. degree at Marchetti College in 1925. He received his M.A. and M.S. degrees at the University of Vienna’s Academy of Creative Arts and School of Architecture in 1927, and was awarded his Ph.D. there in 1929. Further studies in art and architecture took him to Paris, Rome, Florence and Oxford.

The artist first achieved fame as a sculptor at the age of 17, with his statue of Professor Ludo Hartman, eminent Austrian educator and diplomat. Since then he has designed more than 70 full-length statues and nearly 800 smaller sculptures, in addition to a large number of portraits, murals and other paintings. Among his works, which have been shown from Egypt to Japan, are busts of such notables as England’s Kings George V, Edward VIII and George VI; World War I British Prime Minister David Lloyd George; former Queen Alexandria of Yugoslavia; Prime Minister Mackenzie King of Canada; President Harry Truman; General A.A. Vandegrift, USMC; and Admirals Chester Nimitz, William Leahy and Louis Denfeld.

Dr. de Weldon came to the United States in 1937 and was naturalized in 1945. He passed away 2 June 2003 in Woodstock, Virginia, from congestive heart failure at the age of 96. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.

Image License: I, (sookietex) the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible, I grant any entity the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

If This image is subject to copyright in your jurisdiction, i (sookietex) the copyright holder have irrevocably released all rights to it, allowing it to be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, used, modified, built upon, or otherwise exploited in any way by anyone for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, with or without attribution of the author, as if in the public domain.

Text credit:

•  Homepage for the Official United States Marine Corps History Division
• Original Iwo Jima monument could fetch up to $1.8M at NYC auction

Tunguska event

Tunguska Event. Capture date: 1927 by Leonid Alekseyevich Kulik August 19, 1883 – April 14, 1942, Russian mineralogist who is noted for his research into meteorites.

In 1927, Kulik led the first Soviet research expedition to investigate the Tunguska event, the largest explosion / impact event in recorded history, which had occurred on June 30, 1908. Although the meteoroid or comet appears to have burst in air rather than hitting the surface, the event is referred to as an impact. Estimates of the energy of the blast range from 5 to 30 megatons of TNT, about 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion knocked down an estimated 80 million trees over an area covering 2,150 square kilometres (830 sq mi)

The Tunguska event occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at about 07:14 KRAT (00:14 UT) on June 30 [O.S. June 17], 1908. The explosion, having the epicentre (60.886°N, 101.894°E), is believed to have been caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet fragment at an altitude of 5–10 kilometres (3–6 mi) above the Earth's surface.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because it's copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.

This image is also in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris), in this case,  Leonid Alekseyevich Kulik August 19, 1883 – April 14, 1942 , and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from the last day of that year. +sookie tex

Text Credit: Tunguska event From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ash Wednesday the end of Carnival

"Ash Wednesday" the end of Carnival Date: 1855-1860. Medium: color on canvas. Dimensions: 21 × 14 cm. Current location: Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. by Carl Spitzweg (February 5, 1808 – September 23, 1885) a German romanticist painter and poet. He is considered to be one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier era.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because it's copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1860, are now in the public domain.

This image is also in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris), in this case, Carl Spitzweg (February 5, 1808 – September 23, 1885) , and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from the last day of that year. +sookie tex

Winter storm Nemo New York City blizzard 02/08/13

Winter storm Nemo New York City blizzard 02/08/13. The morning after 02/10/13 about 9:00 am. Looking north up Broadway from west 77th street out my window through the glass, sorry but it was to cold to open the window :) The Beaux-Arts building center is at 104th street about a mile and a third away.

Image License: I, (sookietex) the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible, I grant any entity the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

If This image is subject to copyright in your jurisdiction, i (sookietex) the copyright holder have irrevocably released all rights to it, allowing it to be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, used, modified, built upon, or otherwise exploited in any way by anyone for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, with or without attribution of the author, as if in the public domain.

Name: Volunteers of America Regent Family Residence. aka Regent Hotel, Broadway View Hotel. EBN: 115707. Height 196.00 ft Floors (above ground) 17. Construction: 1922 - 1923. 2720 Broadway, 223 West 104th Street at West 104th Street, NE corner 10025, Manhattan, New York City, New York.

English Tabby Cat

 Mrs. Scott's English Tabby "Coppa." First Prize at the Crystal Palace Cat Show, 1886.from Popular Science Monthly Volume 37 May 1890 (1890) Cats and their Friendships By William H. Larrabee.

The cat belongs to a large and highly specialized family; to one that is clearly distinguishable from the other families of animals, while the resemblances between its own members is so strong that even the careless, unprofessional observer will hardly fail to assign at a glance an individual of any of its species to it. All the members of the family are, according to Wood, light, stealthy, and silent of foot, quick of ear and eye. They are exceedingly graceful in form and movement, have flexible bodies and limbs — walk, we might say, on tiptoe — are alert and swift in action, and are exceedingly cunning.

Between many of them and the cat itself there is hardly any prominently visible difference except in size. Curious resemblances in features of line or expression may be remarked between the portraits of the Felidæ in Wood's Natural History and cats with which the observer is acquainted.

A copy of the photograph of the head and breast of a tiger at rest, in a portfolio by our side, might be easily mistaken, except for a few differences in the shading of the hair, for a life-size portrait of the cat that has given the occasion of this article. St. George Mivart recognizes fifty living species of the cat family, forty-eight of which he includes in the genus Felis.

This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because it's copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" PDF. Works published before 1923, in this case 1890, are now in the public domain.

The Shirelles

February 5, 1961 The Shirelles hit number #1 on the Billboard chart with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". The Shirelles have been described as either the first African-American girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100, or the first girl group overall, with the song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" Writer(s) Gerry Goffin, Carole King.

Founded in 1957 for a talent show at their high school, they were signed by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records. Their first single, "I Met Him on a Sunday", was released by Tiara and licensed by Decca Records in 1958. After a brief and unsuccessful period with Decca, they went with Greenberg to her newly formed company, Scepter Records. Working with Luther Dixon, the group rose to fame with "Tonight's the Night". After a successful period of collaboration with Dixon and promotion by Scepter, with seven top 20 hits, The Shirelles left Scepter in 1966.

Background information: Also known as The Poquellos, Shirley & the Shirelles. Origin: Passaic, New Jersey, USA. Genres: R&B, rock and roll, doo-wop, pop, soul. Years active: 1957–82. Labels: Tiara Records, Decca Records, Scepter Records, Bell Records, RCA Records. Past members: Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Beverly Lee, Addie Harris McPherson. +sookie tex

Publicity photo of The Shirelles. Clockwise from left: Shirley Owens, Beverly Lee (top), Addie "Micki" Harris, and Doris Jackson. Date: 24 November 1962. Source : Billboard page 17 Author: Scepter Records-from Scepter Records' Billboard ad which has no copyright marks.

This work is in the public domain in that it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1977 and without a copyright notice. There are no copyright markings as can be seen at the full view link. The ad is not covered by any copyrights for Billboard. US Copyright Office page 3-magazines are collective works (PDF)

"A notice for the collective work will not serve as the notice for advertisements inserted on behalf of persons other than the copyright owner of the collective work. These advertisements should each bear a separate notice in the name of the copyright owner of the advertisement."

This image however MAY NOT be in the public domain in countries that figure copyright from the date of death of the artist (post mortem auctoris) and that most commonly runs for a period of 50 to 70 years from that date. It is copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works, If your use will be outside the United States please check your local law. Text via The Shirelles From Wikipedia

Shiva the destroyer

Shiva, the destroyer, has the second place among the Hindu deities, though in general, in allusion to their offices, these three gods are classed thus: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.

This god is represented in various ways. In the form of meditation used daily by the Brahmins he is described as a silver-colored man, with five faces, an additional eye and a half-moon graces each forehead he has four arms in one hand he holds a purushoo in the second a deer; with the third he is bestowing a blessing, and with the fourth he forbids fear, he sits on a lotus, and wears a tiger-skin garment.

At other times Shiva is represented with one head, three eyes, and two arms, riding on a bull, covered with ashes, naked, his eyes inflamed with intoxicating herbs, having in one hand a horn, and in the other a drum.

Another image of Siva is the lingu, a smooth black stone almost in the form of a sugar-loaf, with a projection at the base like the mouth of a spoon. There are several stories in the pooranus respecting the bottom of these peaks are the heavens of twenty-one other gods. These gods are supposed to be visitors at Vishnu's.

One of the names of Siva is Trilochunu, viz. the three-eyed. One of the names of Jupiter was Trioculus, (Triophthalmos) given him by the Greeks, because he had three eyes. An image of this kind was set up in Troy, which, beside tbe usual two eyes, had a third in the forehead. At the churning of the sea, Siva obtained the moon for his share, and fixed it, with all its glory, in his forehead.

Image and Text: The complete Hindu Pantheon, comprising the principal deities worshiped by the natives of British India throughout Hindustan: being a collection of the gods and goddesses accompanied by a succinct history and descriptive of the idols (Google eBook)

Author: E. A. Rodrigues. Publisher: E.A. Rodrigues, 1842. Original from: Harvard University. Digitized: 5 Jun 2008. Length: 94 pages. Subjects: Religion › Hinduism › General Gods, Hindu, Religion / Hinduism / General. Religion / Hinduism / Theology