Affinities
A Book of Images

An exploration of echoes and resonances across two millennia of visual culture, celebrating ten years of The Public Domain Review.

Funding ended
2510 backers
$201,574.85 of $65,894.50 pledged

Funded 305%

Funding ended
2510 backers
$201,574.85 of $65,894.50 pledged

Funded 305%

Overview

Gathering a remarkable collection of over 500 public domain images, Affinities is a carefully curated visual journey illuminating connections across more than two thousand years of image-making. Drawing on a decade of archival immersion at The Public Domain Review, the book has been assembled from a vast array of sources: from manuscripts to museum catalogues, ship logs to primers on Victorian magic. The images are arranged in a single captivating sequence which unfurls according to a dreamlike logic, through a play of visual echoes and evolving thematic threads – hatching eggs twin with early Burmese world maps, marbled endpapers meet tattooed stowaways, and fireworks explode beside deep-sea coral.

At once an art book, a sourcebook, and a kaleidoscopic visual poem, Affinities is a unique and enthralling publication that will offer something different on each visit. Exquisitely cloth-bound and extending across more than 360 pages, its playful and imaginative space invites the reader to transcend familiar categories of epoch, style, or historical theme, and to instead revel in a new world of creative possibilities played out between the images – opening up new connections, ways of seeing, and forms of knowledge.

A compelling object and experience in its own right, Affinities also acts as a launchpad for further discoveries and inventive engagements with the commons. Channelling the bold curatorial spirit of The Public Domain Review, the book’s meticulous sourcing points to works, creators, and collections around the world, serving as a gateway for future forays into the digital public domain.

Launched to coincide with the tenth anniversary of The Public Domain Review, the book promises to give followers of the hugely popular site more of the wonderful encounters that they have come to expect, and to introduce a new audience to its singular creative vision. Volume is delighted to move this digital cabinet of curiosities onto the printed page.

Editor

Adam Green

Designer

Nicholas Jeeves

Genre

Visual Culture

Specification

280 x 215 mm
368 pages
Hardbound
Covered in real cloth with foil-blocked text
Embossed and tipped-in cover image

This campaign is now closed and Affinities is in production. For those who missed out, it is still possible to pre-order the book for a limited period here →

Rewards

Book

• Edition limited to Volume
• Exclusive updates
• Your name in the book

Collector’s edition + prints

• Slipcased special edition
• Set of four prints limited to a run of 100
• Custom-designed poster
• Exclusive updates
• Your name in the book

Book Early Bird

• Reduced price
• Edition limited to Volume
• Exclusive updates
• Your name in the book

Collector’s edition

• Slipcased special edition
• Custom-designed poster only available with this edition
• Limited to 400 copies
• Exclusive updates
• Your name in the book

Funding successful. This project closed on Friday, June 4 2021 4:00 pm UTC +00:00.

All pledges will be refunded in full if the funding goal is not met within the allotted time.

The Public Domain Review

Dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas, The Public Domain Review presents overlooked cultural works that have fallen into the public domain.

Through its essays and collections it brings readers a breath-taking range of material from galleries, libraries, museums, and archives the world over. Earning praise from the likes of The Guardian, The New York Times, and Vice, it has welcomed more than 20 million people to its pages since launching a decade ago.

With a focus on the surprising, the strange, and the beautiful, the project celebrates the breadth and diversity of our shared cultural commons and the minds that have made it. Affinities is a shining summation of that work thus far.

An Aladdin’s cave of curiosity…the best thing on the web.

The Guardian

Collector’s Edition

For those seeking something truly special, Volume is offering this Collector’s Edition, limited to 500 copies. Bound in an elegant shade of blue, with palladium foiling and custom endpapers, this covetable offering comes housed in its own cloth-bound slipcase.

This unique publication is accompanied by a limited-edition poster, measuring 840 x 560 mm when unfolded, showcasing every image in the book. Complementing the book’s human-edited sequence of images, the poster explores the concept of digital image association in the age of the internet. Designed and developed in collaboration with researchers at King’s College London, the Public Data Lab, and DensityDesign Lab in Milan, it presents a layout of the book’s images according to machine-learning algorithms that find affinities and cluster images based on training datasets.

Exclusively limited to this Volume edition, the poster is printed on 170 gsm matt-art paper.

A gold mine of fantastic images and stories.

The New York Times

A Collection of Prints

Volume is also pleased to offer a selection of prints from an enigmatic 16th-century German manuscript of geometrical and perspective drawings. Including the cover image of Affinities and three others from the manuscript, this visual quartet of prints plays on the themes of repetition and difference so key to the book.

Measuring 270 x 200 mm and printed on heavy textured art paper, these giclée prints will be limited to 100 sets and are only available as part of the campaign. This offering is perfect for long-standing supporters of The Public Domain Review who wish to bring the spirit of Affinities from the bookcase to the wall.

The Public Domain Review provides the world with an accessible alley to explore some of the most interesting and formative parts of our culture … carving out a niche as a beautifully curated website with a solid editorial line.

Vice

Meet the Editor

Adam Green is co-founder and editor of The Public Domain Review, an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to exploring curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas. Since launching the project in 2011, he’s taken the review from modest beginnings to one of the most renowned digital projects of its kind, lauded by such outlets as The Guardian, The New York Times, and Vice. He is also working on other experimental art and literary projects that build on his editorial work plumbing the depths of historical archives. He is currently in limbo on the edge of the Peak District in the U.K.

Affinities shipping update

1 like 32 comments April 11, 2022 at 14:22

Dear Affinities backers,

We’ve been informed that stock of Affinities: A Book of Images arriving at our US distribution warehouse has been delayed until 19th April, and that North American customers can expect to receive their order within 2-3 weeks.

As we use a different distribution warehouse for other international orders, customers outside of the EU and US can expect to receive their copies within 1-2 weeks.

And finally, all orders for UK and EU customers are currently being shipped, with the estimated delivery time of 3-7 days.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation with this project. We do hope that you’ll enjoy the final result of your kind contribution to bringing this glorious book to life.

Kind regards,
Beth Siveyer
Volume Community Manager

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32 Replies to “Affinities shipping update”

Gretchen Schofield 3 weeks ago

June 6 th 2022
I have updated my address in hopes that will facilitate delivery.
But I would appreciate a confirmation
Gretchen
Gretchen Schofield 3 weeks ago

June 6th , 2022
No updates since mid May
No new email updates
No book
Gretchen , Los Angeles
1. Beth 3 weeks ago
  
  Hi Gretchen, can you please email bs@vol.co about your order. Thanks!
Kendra Floyd 3 weeks ago

I have not received my volume and I have written email twice without receiving a response from a person.

Who can help me?
1. Beth 3 weeks ago
  
  Hi Kendra, sincere apologies for not responding sooner. With the long bank holiday weekend, I’m currently trying my best to get through a large volume of customer emails and hope to reply to your query as soon as possible. Thanks!
Jason Bullock 3 weeks ago

Haven’t received my book and also moved recently. Is there a way to update my shipping address?
1. Beth 3 weeks ago
  
  Hi Jason, can you please email bs@vol.co about your order. Thanks!
Mackenzie Ryan 4 weeks ago

I’ve not received my book.
1. Beth 3 weeks ago
  
  Hi Mackenzie, can you please email bs@vol.co about your order. Thanks!
robertcirasa 4 weeks ago

Volume arrived a couple of days ago. Absolutely magnificent. Many thanks for creating it.
1. Beth 4 weeks ago
  
  Hi Robert, so pleased to hear you’re happy with your copy and thank you again for your kind contribution!
Samantha Amberg 4 weeks ago

Hello, US resident here on May 29. Still no sign of the book or tracking information. How can I get an update? I will be moving in June, so it is important for me to know when to expect the book. Thank you!
1. Beth 4 weeks ago
  
  Hi Samantha, I’ve just sent you an email regarding your order and tracking. Thanks!
Alan LaBudde 1 month ago

May 27th here in the usa and haven’t seen the book?//?could I get a tracking #?
1. Beth 1 month ago
  
  Hi Alan, can you please email me at bs@vol.co about your tracking info. Thanks!
Gretchen Schofield 1 month ago

Hello!
Los Angeles County -May 17,2022
No email, no update , no book.
1. Beth 1 month ago
  
  Hi Gretchen, US orders for Affinities are still being processed and dispatched this week. I’m expecting to receive the fulfilment report that contains tracking numbers from the distribution warehouse in the next couple of days, and will be able to send you your tracking info as soon as I have it. Thanks!
Marc Prettenhofer 1 month ago

Hey Beth – Boston MA here – haven’t heard/seen anything yet. Is there an update for US delivery?
1. Beth 1 month ago
  
  Hi Marc, all US orders for Affinities are still being processed to be dispatched in the next couple of days, so not long to wait now. Thanks!
Simone Farber 2 months ago

Hello! Los Angeles backer here, and I still haven’t received anything as of Weds, May 11th. Any updates?

–S. Farber
1. Beth 2 months ago
  
  Hi Simone, letting you know that I’ve just replied to your email. Thanks!
Donato Miranda 2 months ago

Hello, I have not received the book at all. Address is in Belgium. What is the status of my order? Thank you.
1. Beth 2 months ago
  
  Hi Donato, can you please email me at bs@vol.co with your order number? Thanks!
Jalinka Gressmann 2 months ago

Hi, I have to pay import fees here in the Netherlands.
It would be nice to inform us about that beforehand.
Are you gonna compensate that?
1. Beth 2 months ago
  
  Hi Jalinka, we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused. Unfortunately we cannot compensate import fees as mentioned in our Delivery & Returns page: https://vol.co/delivery-and-returns/. Thanks!
Tom Wouters 2 months ago

As a Belgian backer, I got a message from my national postal service today that in order to receive this book, I have to pay 20 euro (= 16 GPB) import fees. Several months ago, I asked you guys whether you would solve the problem of customs after UK left Europe. You answered that you were looking for a solution, but I’m sad to find out now that this hasn’t been solved.
1. Beth 2 months ago
  
  Hi Tom, we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused. As a small team, we are still looking for a solution due to the process being complicated and unfortunately it’s taking longer to implement than we had initially expected. Thanks!
AYUR Sandanov 3 months ago

Good day! Do you know what will happen to shipments to Russian Federation?
1. Beth 3 months ago
  
  Hello, shipments to Russia are still being delivered, as far as we know. Thanks!
Charles Miltenberger 3 months ago

Fantastic! Can’t wait to see it!
Marie Rendina 3 months ago

Hi, By what courrier did you ship in UK? Thanks
1. Beth 3 months ago
  
  Hi Marie, we use Royal Mail for the UK. Thanks!

AffinitiesA Book of Images