(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...
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* 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!