Books Entering the Public Domain
All books commercially published in the US in 1928 are in the public domain as of January 1, 2024! Books in the public domain are "owned" by everyone. Anyone has the right to read, share, or publish these works. When someone provides open access to a lesser-known or out-of-print book in the public domain, that book is saved from potential obscurity.
Duke's Center for the Study of Public Domain has a list of books that enter public domain this year!
Here are some books in the Wayne State University Library's special collections that have entered the public domain. They are all available to browse and read in the Hathi-Trust Digital Library. Explore their 1928 Publications Collection.
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Dark Princess: A Romance
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Publication Date: 1928One of 5 historical novels authored by W.E.B. DuBois, Dark Princess explores the beauty of people of color around the world. -
The fairy shoemaker, and other fairy poems
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Publication Date: 1928Boris Artzybasheff was a Russian-born American illustrator notable for his strongly worked and often surreal designs. He received Newbery Medals for his illustrations in 1928 and 1938, and illustrated over 50 books over his career. -
The family in the making; an historic sketch,
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Publication Date: 1928Mary Burt Messer was an American activist, social worker, professor, author, and Christian Science practitioner. An advocate for women's rights, she was a leader of the Wisconsin chapter of the National Women's Party. Influenced by the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, Messer's life and work emphasized healing, spiritual idealism, and autonomy for women. In her youth, her family lived near Frederick Douglass, whom she recalled meeting and later cited as an inspiration for her activism as a suffragist. -
Millions of Cats
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Publication Date: 1928Millions of Cats won a Newbery Honor award in 1929, one of two of Wanda Gag's books to receive a Newbery over her career. It is the oldest American picture book still in print. -
Orlando: A Biography
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Publication Date: 1928Woolf's character of Orlando was inspired by poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West, who was also Woolf's lover and close friend. Considered a feminist classic, the book describes the adventures of a poet who changes sex from man to woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures of English literary history. -
Venus invisible, and other poems
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Publication Date: 1928Nathalia Clara Ruth Crane was an American poet and novelist who became famous as a child prodigy after the publication of her first book of poetry at age 12. She was 15 years old when this book was published.
Ruth Jonas was a self-taught artist from Brooklyn, born in 1906. Her work was featured in the MOMA exhibition "An exhibition of work of 46 painters and sculptors under 35 years of age" in 1930.