Thomas Wolfe’s first novel Look Homeward, Angel made his literary fame. It both impressed and disturbed Asheville neighbors who recognized what he’d fictionalized, and inspired later authors like Maya Angelou, Jack Kerouac, and Ray Bradbury.
Wolfe’s book, going public domain in 23 days, is much lauded, but some readers now consider the longer manuscript Wolfe originally submitted, published in 2000 as O Lost, as even better. That stays copyrighted in the US until 2048. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
1920s science fiction and fantasy is often seen as a men’s genre. There were plenty of works by women as well, but they didn’t always write for the same readers, and often crossed genre boundaries in unexpected ways.
Case in point: Rebecca West‘s Harriet Hume, a 1929 “London fantasy” that also has elements of modernism, spiritualism, feminism, and satire. It wasn’t for everyone, but Rich Horton’s review explains why he loves it. It joins the public domain in 24 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
The Marx Brothers made the transition from a stage act to movie stars in 1929. Their success in the new “talkies” was welcome both to Hollywood and to the brothers, especially after they lost fortunes in 1929’s stock market crash. (At least they got some jokes out of that.)
Their last show written for the stage, Animal Crackers, and their first feature film, The Cocoanuts (adapted from their 1925 stage show), both have 1929 copyrights, and go public domain in 25 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
The Listeners’ Club calls George Gershwin’s An American in Paris “one of the most iconic pieces of 20th century music”. You can hear how it fuses together popular styles like jazz and blues with symphonic influences from composers like Debussy and Ravel.
It was first performed in 1928, and first published in a piano transcription in 1929. That joins the public domain in 26 days, but we have to wait another year for Gershwin’s full orchestra score, published in 1930. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Josephine Tey (aka Gordon Daviot, aka Elizabeth MacKintosh) was less prolific and more private than some of her peers, but her fans have kept nearly all her mysteries in print since their first publication. As Francis Wheen notes, her books regularly ignored the usual crime fiction formulas, subverting expectations in interesting ways.
Her main detective character, Inspector Grant, first appears in The Man in the Queue, a novel joining the US public domain in 27 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Artwork copyright terms can be hard to determine. Reliable information on publication, formalities, and other relevant metadata can be hard to get.
I’ve seen J.L.G. Ferris’s “Washington at Bartram’s Garden” presented online as public domain, sometimes dated by the depicted scene (1774) rather than the much later painting date. With a renewed 1929 copyright, it actually becomes public domain in 28 days.
Bartram’s Garden still exists, and is well worth a free visit. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Contralto Marian Anderson broke many barriers in her long singing career. She gave an open air concert at the Lincoln Memorial to an integrated audience in 1939 after being denied an indoor venue, and later sang in the Metropolitan Opera. She regularly sang both classical music and African American spirituals.
She made her first commercial record for Victor in 1923, singing “Deep River” and “My Way’s Cloudy”. Released in 1924, it joins the public domain in 29 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
John Steinbeck‘s first novel Cup of Gold is historical fiction with touches of legend, about privateer Henry Morgan’s quest for riches and a woman’s heart in 17th century Panama. What Steinbeck later called an “immature experiment” hasn’t been as well received as his later, more realistic novels. But he stayed interested in historical romance, later writing a retelling of Arthurian legend published after his death. Cup of Gold becomes the public’s treasure in 30 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Jazz pianist Fats Waller was called “the Black Horowitz” by fellow pianist Oscar Levant. Though he died before he turned 40, he copyrighted over 400 songs in his lifetime, and may have ghostwritten many others. Two of his biggest hits, “Ain’t Misbehavin'” (written with Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf) and “Honeysuckle Rose” (also written with Razaf) join the public domain in 31 days. “Ain’t Misbehavin'” is also the title of a 1978 musical paying tribute to Waller’s music. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
Actress Joan Lowell‘s Cradle of the Deep was a best-selling memoir of a childhood at sea, sailing the globe for years with an all-male crew. But after Lincoln Colcord, who actually had spent years at sea, called it “unmitigated bosh”, Lowell’s yarn quickly unraveled. Her book is now noted for its audacious fakery, in works like this 2011 art installation. Both Lowell’s book and Colcord’s takedown in the New York Herald Tribune land in the public domain in 32 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown
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