✪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 · free to read

Did you know?

Lossing's 1877 history was written for the parlor table, 'for all readers' — and illustrated within an inch of its life.

— Our Country, 1877

In 1902, The Great Republic sliced American history into half-hour readings — podcast pacing, 120 years early.

— The Great Republic, 1902

In 1886, children learned coats of arms as a parlor amusement — heraldry was a board game before board games.

— Dame Heraldry, 1886

A 1916 anthology of patriotic readings was assembled on the eve of America's entry into the Great War — history as a call to duty.

— America First, 1916

Pick any year of American history and see what 1877 thought about it — the view before another 150 years of hindsight.

— Our Country, 1877

The Books, Shelf by Shelf

17 books in this collection, 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 (4 books)·Lives & Names (3 books)·Wars & the Sea (4 books)·Heraldry & Rank (1 books)·Houses & Landmarks (3 books)·The Old World (1 books)·Society & Style (1 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.

Lives & Names

Who people were, and what their names meant.

Wars & the Sea

Battles, navies and the ships that carried them.

Heraldry & Rank

Shields, blazons and the medieval alphabet of rank.

Houses & Landmarks

The American house, from plan book to shrine.

The Old World

Abroad, ancient and modern.

Society & Style

How people dressed, paid and organized.

Dress Design

Dress Design1912

How clothes were cut and built, century by century.