History Bard

Forgotten stories from the past, retold for today.

The past is full of great stories, sharp insight and real analysis that most of us can no longer reach, because they live in old, rare, out-of-print books. We discover, augment and publish those lost works — histories of America and of the wider world — complete, free, and open to everyone.

Each book gets a full site: every chapter, every engraving, plus games and daily readings built from the text itself, with our commentary clearly marked.

17 books live · 29 more coming soon

Did you know?

The Books, Shelf by Shelf

46 books in this collection — 17 here now, another 29 coming soon — shelved the way a good bookshop would do it. The book's cover is the door; you are invited to walk in anywhere.

The American Story (8 books)·Lives & Names (4 books)·Wars & the Sea (6 books)·Heraldry & Rank (4 books)·Houses & Landmarks (10 books)·The Old World (4 books)·Society & Style (10 books)

The American Story

The Republic told whole, from settlement to the parlor shelf.

Our Country

Our Country1877

Lossing's fireside history of the United States, in three volumes.

America First

America First1916

Patriotic readings from the eve of the Great War.

Coming soonLibrary of American History

Library of American History

Nine volumes of the American story, told at length.

Coming soonAdams Map of History

Adams Map of History

All of recorded history on one synchronological chart.

Coming soonAmerican Government

American Government

How the machinery of American government actually works.

Coming soonThe Historie Booke

The Historie Booke

An antiquarian pageant of colonial days, done in ye olde style.

Lives & Names

Who people were, and what their names meant.

Coming soonLower's Essays on English Surnames

Lower's Essays on English Surnames1845

Where English family names come from, essay by essay.

Wars & the Sea

Battles, navies and the ships that carried them.

Coming soonUnknown - WWI Methods of War

Unknown - WWI Methods of War

A Great War volume on the new methods of war.

Coming soonWar Medals of the Confederacy (Belden)

War Medals of the Confederacy (Belden)

The medals and decorations of the Confederacy.

Heraldry & Rank

Shields, blazons and the medieval alphabet of rank.

Coming soonGrammar of Heraldry

Grammar of Heraldry

The rules of blazon, taught from first principles.

Coming soonCoats of Arms of Glocester

Coats of Arms of Glocester

A county's shields and the families who bore them.

Coming soonPage, Esquire and Knight

Page, Esquire and Knight

The making of a knight, from page to spurs.

Houses & Landmarks

The American house, from plan book to shrine.

Coming soonBeautiful Houses

Beautiful Houses

A tour of notably beautiful houses and their rooms.

Coming soonRadford American Homes

Radford American Homes

A catalogue of American house plans, ready to build.

Coming soonThe Colonial House

The Colonial House

The American colonial house, inside and out.

Coming soonThe Grammar of House Planning and Conveniences

The Grammar of House Planning and Conveniences

How to plan a house that actually works.

Coming soonVillages and Country Residences and How to Build Them

Villages and Country Residences and How to Build Them

Country houses and whole villages, planned on paper.

Coming soonWoodward's National Architect

Woodward's National Architect1869

Working drawings for the American house of 1869.

Coming soonGeorgetown Texas Illustrated

Georgetown Texas Illustrated

A Texas county seat shows itself off, in pictures.

The Old World

Abroad, ancient and modern.

Coming soonThe Baedeker Guides

The Baedeker Guides

The little red books that taught the world to travel.

Coming soonParis and Its Historical Scenes

Paris and Its Historical Scenes

Paris, scene by scene, through its great upheavals.

Coming soonThe Eternal City- Rome

The Eternal City- Rome

Rome, the Eternal City, toured in words and pictures.

Society & Style

How people dressed, paid and organized.

Dress Design

Dress Design1912

How clothes were cut and built, century by century.

Coming soonModern Social Movements

Modern Social Movements

The movements remaking society, surveyed as news.

Coming soonMoney Currency and Precious Metals

Money Currency and Precious Metals

Money itself — coin, paper and the metals behind them.

Coming soonUS Mint and Coinage (probably Evans)

US Mint and Coinage (probably Evans)

The Mint and the money it struck.

Coming soonHistory and Poetry of Finger Rings

History and Poetry of Finger Rings

The finger ring, in history and in verse.

Coming soonA General History of Drugs

A General History of Drugs

The old drug trade, root by root and gum by gum.

Coming soonUnknown - History of Pottery

Unknown - History of Pottery

A history of pottery, still being identified.

Coming soonAmerican Book of Dogs

American Book of Dogs

America's dogs, breed by breed.

Coming soonStage-coach and Tavern Days (Earle)

Stage-coach and Tavern Days (Earle)

Travel and tavern life in early America.

Coming soonSchool History of the United States

School History of the United States

The Republic's story as the schoolroom told it.