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The Fountain of Regeneration

In this engraving of the Festival of Reunion or Unity of 10 August 1793, a female statue of Nature in the form of the Egyptian goddess Isis represents the regeneration of the French people. It sits on the site of the Bastille prison, whose fall signaled the beginning of the Revolution.

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The Republic

Under the monarchy, the king was the country’s symbolic center. Removing him and establishing a republic made necessary not only a new constitution but also a new set of symbols.

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Liberty

In this spectacularly vivid rendition of Liberty, she holds the Phrygian cap of freed slaves on a pike. That, combined with her colorful pants, suggests aggressive liberty. Yet the scrolls in her right hand also underscore the role of legislation in defining her purview.

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Provincial Painting—Minatures

Surrounded by her children, this woman represents conventionality and respectability.

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The Triumph of Liberty

In this extraordinary painting stands a formidable and powerful figure of liberty with her pike and cap. As the title of this work suggests, Liberty appears here as a warrior surveying the field of battle from a commanding height.

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Woman with a Basket in Front of a Door to the Prison

Despite the demure expression created by her huge eyes, this woman also shows adherence to the Revolution through her scarf, similar in shape and color to the Phrygian cap.

The use of the !gõïn!gõïn page
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San Dance Ethnography

Lucy Lloyd and Wilhelm Bleek, German ethnographers who lived in Cape Town, were the first people to systematically write down Khoisan folklore, beliefs, and customs.

Through Masai Land title page
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Through Masai Land

Joseph Thomson traveled through Kenya Maasailand from 1883 to 1884 on a journey of exploration from the coast to Mt Kenya and Lake Victoria, under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society. He was the second European to visit the area.

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
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Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

The following are excerpts from the letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), a noted English essayist and one of the earliest advocates of women’s rights.

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Emperor Jahangir Weighing His Son Khurram in Gold

The finely detailed miniature painting in an album created for the Emperor Jahangir (reigned 1605–1627) of the Mughal Empire in India shows a ceremony initiated by Jahangir's father, Akbar the Great (reigned 1556-1605), Jahangir's father.