British Cartoon Archive facts for kids
The British Cartoon Archive (BCA) is a special place at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. It's like a huge treasure chest of cartoons from British newspapers and magazines! These aren't just any cartoons; they often show funny or thoughtful comments about politics and society.
The BCA started in 1973. It now has an amazing collection of 130,000 original drawings by 350 different cartoonists. Imagine all those unique artworks! They also have 90,000 newspaper clippings and a library full of related books and magazines.
You can explore many of these cartoons online for free! Their website has a huge catalogue with over 200,000 cartoon images that you can search through. The archive itself is found inside the Templeman Library and even has a gallery where you can see some of the cartoons up close.
Contents
How the British Cartoon Archive Started
The Idea for a Cartoon Centre
The idea to create a special place for studying political and social cartoons began at the University of Kent in 1972. People became more interested in cartoons after a popular exhibition called "Drawn and Quartered" at the National Portrait Gallery a couple of years earlier.
Finding the Cartoons
Dr. Graham Thomas, a teacher at the university, started looking for old cartoon collections. He contacted national newspapers and found they were happy to give away the cartoons they had. This helped the idea of a "Cartoon Study Centre" really take shape.
The First Big Delivery
Soon, the first huge delivery of cartoons arrived from Fleet Street, a famous area in London where many newspapers used to be. It was three and a quarter tons of cartoons, which included 20,000 original drawings!
The Centre Opens
In November 1973, the University of Kent officially opened the "Centre for the Study of Cartoons and Caricature." This was the beginning of the British Cartoon Archive.
Growing the Collection
Within ten years, the collection grew a lot. It went from 20,000 drawings to 70,000! By 2009, it had reached 130,000 original drawings. This made it the largest collection of British cartoon artwork by far.
Bringing Cartoons Online
Starting with Computers
In 1988, the BCA began using computers to organize its huge collection. This made it easier to keep track of all the cartoons.
Adding Digital Images
Then, in 1990, they started adding digital pictures of the cartoons to their computer system. This meant people could see the cartoons without needing to handle the original artwork.
Cartoons on CD-ROM and the Web
By 1996, about 18,000 cartoons were available on a special CD-ROM. Just three years later, in 1999, all 30,000 cartoons that had been catalogued were put online on the BCA website for everyone to see.
A Huge Online Collection
Today, the online catalogue has over 200,000 images! For some major collections, researchers can even see different versions of a cartoon. This includes the original drawing, early prints, and the final version as it appeared in the newspaper.
