Always Interesting: Public Domain Day

 

(Art: portion of public domain graphic)

I love looking through vintage works: old books, movies, and music where the copyright has expired and that come into the public domain each year.

January 1, 2026 marks the release of works from 1930 - and there's some fascinating ones. These are works that copyright has expired on and you can legally play with, adapt, etc. into new works. I'm just including a few of the listings here.

Some fascinating books: There are thousands more. I love the Nancy Drew books... hmmm, maybe there's an idea there... 

 * Here are summaries of the four Nancy Drew books on Wikipedia.

• William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying
• Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon (the full book version)
• Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage (the first novel featuring Miss Marple)
• Carolyn Keene (pseudonym for Mildred Benson), the first four Nancy Drew books, beginning with The Secret of the Old Clock

  Comics: Oh, wow, always liked Betty Boop: Blondie and Dagwood, too!

• Betty Boop from Fleischer Studios' Dizzy Dishes and other cartoons
• Blondie and Dagwood from the Blondie comic strips by Chic Young
• Nine new Mickey Mouse cartoons, the initial week of Mickey Mouse comic strips, and ten new Silly Symphonies cartoons from Disney

  Landmark movies: 

• All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Lewis Milestone (winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture)
• King of Jazz, directed by John Murray Anderson (musical revue featuring Paul Whiteman and Bing Crosby’s first feature-film appearance)
• Animal Crackers, directed by Victor Heerman (starring the Marx Brothers)
  

 Memorable songs: We've all heard many of these. I love old music so will be fun listening to some of these:

• Georgia on My Mind, lyrics by Stuart Gorrell, music by Hoagy Carmichael
• Dream a Little Dream of Me, lyrics by Gus Kahn, music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt
• On the Sunny Side of the Street, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, music by Jimmy McHugh

Also sound recordings from notable names like Louis Armstong, which I'll have to check out.

• Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen, recorded by Marian Anderson
  
• Yes Sir, That's My Baby, recorded by Gene Austin
• Sweet Georgia Brown, recorded by Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra
• The St. Louis Blues, recorded by Bessie Smith, featuring Louis Armstrong

There is an art section, too, many of which I am not familiar with so I'll have to look around more. 

So, some fun digging to do in the new year!