50/50 Exhibition – The 50 Selected Cartoons

The 50/50 Project: Celebrating 50 Years of the British Cartoon Archive

In October 2023 we launched our new co-curated exhibition highlighting 50 cartoons representing 50 years of the British Cartoon Archive. The cartoons were selected and researched by a fabulous team of volunteers and we are extremely grateful to them for their participation in this project. So thank you to Angel Robson, Dr Balasubramanyam Chandramohan, Cameron Matthews, Elizabeth Grimshaw, Hannah Robson, Irene Szmelter, Nadia Davies, and Peter McCullen! 

The full list of the selected cartoons can be found here in this blog – but do remember to come and see the exhibition in person between October 2023 and February 2024!

The 50 cartoons selected represent the vast breadth of artists, subjects and formats found in the British Cartoon Archive. Together they provide a fascinating introduction to the history of cartooning and tell the stories of political events and people discovered by the volunteers throughout their research.  

Themes that emerged in the volunteer research included the history of cartoons, the beginnings of satire, the space race, political events and crises, strikes, the commonwealth, and the cartoons of Carl Giles.

Introduction Panels – Cartoons selected by the British Cartoon Archive staff 

  1. “Cartoon No 1: Substance and Shadow”, Punch, Or, The London Charivari, 1843. Reference: Punch, 15th July 1843

    Cartoon titled Cartoon No 1 Substance and Shadow showing a scene in an art gallery where a group of poor and ragged children and adults are looking at the opulent artworks on the walls which show portraits of people in more wealthy clothing

    Substance and Shadow, Cartoon No. 1, Punch Magazine, 15th July 1843.

  2. Rendezvous, David Low, Evening Standard, 20 September 1939. Reference: LSE2692

 

Satirical Ceramics in Late Georgian Britain and beyond ;The Emergence of Satirical Print; Historians start to take cartoons seriously

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Irene Szmelter:

  1. Pink jug with transfer-prints, Doctor Syntax drawing after nature; Doctor Syntax Disputing his Bill with the Landlady, c.1914-1930s. Reference: Doctor Syntax collection, [uncatalogued]  
  2. Plate with transfer-print, Doctor Syntax reading his tour, c.1920-1980s. Reference: Doctor Syntax collection, [uncatalogued]
    Ceramic plate on a plate stand showing an image of Dr Syntax, a character created by Thomas Rowlandson as a satire of William Gilpin, who was a supporter of the Picturesque movement. In the image Dr Syntax is reading his book to others in a tavern and they look bored and even asleep.

    Plate with transfer-print, Doctor Syntax reading his tour, c.1920-1980s. Reference: Dr Syntax collection, [uncatalogued]

  3. William Combe, The tour of Doctor Syntax, in search of the picturesque : a poem (5th edition, London, 1813) Reference: Derek Schartau Collection PR 3359.C5 
  4. Steve Bell, Fashionable Contrasts in Washington D.C (after James Gillray), 2017 Reference: Steve Bell Digital Collection SBD1772 
  5. Richard T. Godfrey, James Gillray: the art of caricature (London, 2001) Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library LRG NC 1479.G5 GOD
  6. Martin Rowson, The Contrast 2018 (after Thomas Rowlandson), 2018. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD1228 
  7. Dorothy George, English political caricature, 1793-1832 : a study of opinion and propaganda, 1959. Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library, NC 1763.P66 M 
  8. McCreery, The satirical gaze: prints of women in late eighteenth- century England, 2004. Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library NE962.W65

Strikes!

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Angel Robson:

Cartoon showing the door to Number 10, being opened by Boris Johnson holding an umbrella, with buckets of excrement balanced on the top and about to come down on his head. The buckets are labelled 'Inequality', 'Education' and 'NHS'. Keir Starmer is shown hiding just beyond the opening door and is pulling his mask down.

13: “Come on Everyone! Lockdown’s over and everything’s brilliant!” Martin Rowson Digital Collection, MRD 1634, Daily Mirror, 5th April 2021.

  1. Sidney Strube, – And we’re on our way, Daily Express, Undated. Reference: Sidney ‘George’ Strube Collection, Beaverbrook Foundation GS0070 
  2. Jonathon Pugh, “It’s not another eclipse. They’re our rubbish bags”, Daily Mail, 05 September 2017. Reference: Cuttings Collection 106199 
  3. Martin Rowson, [Lockdown’s over and everything’s brilliant], Daily Mirror, 05 April 2021. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD1634 
  4. Peter Brookes, Hoot if You Support Junior Doctors, The Times, 02 September 2016. Reference: Cuttings Collection 104446 
  5. Martin Rowson, [Boris tramples over workers], Daily Mirror, 08 March 2021. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD1622 
  6. Michael Cummings, “It’s the Silly Season and the Loch N.U.M. Monster arrives, as usual, on time!”, Sunday Express, 06 September 1987. Reference: Michael Cummings Collection, Beaverbrook Foundation CU1813 
  7. Deep Digs! Cartoons of the Miners’ Strike, (London, 1985). Reference: British Cartoon Archive Library NC 1763.S87 

 

Censorship and Saucy Postcards

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Nadia Davies: 

Typed card with a postcard stapled to it. The postcard shows a man with a large protruding stomach looking out across a beach. There is a lighthouse in the distance. There is a sandcastle on the sand in front of him, and a small boy ('Willy') sitting in a hole digging in the sand at his feet. He cannot see him over his stomach.

Postcard designed by Bob Wilkin, I wish I could see my little willy?, D E & S Ltd.

Typed card titled 'Proceedings' with hand written entries for several rows and columns. Reads - No 1 Date 3.12.52. Court Rhyl. Defendant 5. Result OD. DPP Ref 3290/52; No 2 Date 27.10.54. Court Margate. Defendant 5. Result OD. DPP Ref 3795/53; No 3 Date 27.4.54. Court Margate QS. Defendant 5. Result OD. DPP Ref 456/54; No 4 Date 15.11.57. Court Southwell. Defendant 5. Result NO. DPP Ref 3409/57.

Typed Card from the Crown Prosecution Service recording the prosecutions for obscene postcards that took place for the card on the reverse – I wish I could see my little willy. Prosecutions took place in Rhyl, Margate and Southwell.

  1. Donald McGill, A stick of rock, cock?, Constance Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0363 
  2. What rosy cheeks you have my dear, Leslie Lester Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0649 
  3. Have you got two big bouncy balls please?, Leslie Lester Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0700 
  4. Bob Wilkin, I wish I could see my little willy?, E & S Ltd, Undated. Reference: Crown Prosecution Service Collection CP/0438  
  5. Dave Brown, Has anyone seen my little willy?, The Independent, 05 Oct 1999. Reference: Cuttings Collection 52292 

Political Events and Crises

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Hannah Robson: 

  1. Brian Adcock, “So you know the so-called “Special Relationship,” well you are gonna love this!”, The Independent, 6 November 2017. Reference: Brian Adcock Digital Collection BAD0485 
  2. Victor Weisz, “McCarthy is dead! Long live McCarthyism!”, Daily Mirror, 7 May 1957. Reference: Vicky [Victor Weisz] Collection, Beaverbrook Foundation VY0890 
  3. Michael Cummings, [no caption], Daily Express, 14 November 1986. Reference: Cuttings Collection 44500 
  4. Christian Adams, Signed in Blood, Daily Telegraph, 19 October 2015. Reference: Cuttings Collection 103278 
  5. Carl Giles, Daily Express Christmas card, c.1947. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/4/1/4/1 (GAC0098) 
Cartoon for a Christmas Card - of a newspaper seller, sitting near a London bus stop looking serious and downcast, with signs propped against a wall showing the headlines of the newspapers including: Evening Atom bomb latest Sunday Complete list of wars Daily Crime waves everywhere Sunday Taxes may be double Daily H bomb on the way Daily Merry Xmas to all our readers

Carl Giles, Daily Express Christmas card, c.1947. Reference – Carl Giles Trust Collection – CG/1/4/1/4/1 (GAC0098)

 

Viewing both England and the University of Kent through an Irish lens

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Peter McCullen: 

  1. Martin Rowson, Backwards, The Guardian, 25 May 2015. Reference: Martin Rowson Digital Collection MRD0654 
  2. Ben Jennings, [no caption], Independent, 01 March 2014. Reference: Ben Jennings Digital Collection BJD0121 
  3. Ben Jennings, [no caption], Independent, 01 March 2014. Reference: Ben Jennings Digital Collection BJD0200 
  4. Carl Giles, “Talking of cheque book journalism, do you think the editor would object to us taking that cab?”, Daily Express, 07 May 1981. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3002 (GA4259)  
  5. Carl Giles, [no caption], Daily Express, 11 November 1958. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3824 (GA5503) 
  6. Wally Fawkes, [no caption], Observer, 14 June 1987. Reference: Cuttings Collection 42646 
  7. Tove Jansson, Moomin and Snorkmaiden, Undated. Reference: Tove Jansson Collection TV0002 (Uncatalogued) 
Drawing of two moomins by Tove Janssen. Moomintroll is standing wearing a neck tie with moomins on it, facing Snorkmaiden who is looking and pointing at the tie.

Tove Jansson, Moomin and Snorkmaiden, Undated. Reference: Tove Jansson Collection TV0002 (Uncatalogued)

 

The Space Race 

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Elizabeth Grimshaw 

28. Michael Cummings, Increase of Fares Between London – Mars –Venus – Moon, Daily Express, 27 Jan 1953. Reference: Cummings Collection CU0522

36. Scott Clissold, “Got a spare ticket for the new Star Wars movie, mate?!”, Daily Star, 16 December 2015. Reference: Scott Clissold Digital Collection CLD0549

Colour cartoon of two aliens in a space ship talking to an astronaut on a space walk outside the International Space Station. One of the aliens speaks to the astronaut and says 'Got a spare ticket for the new Star Wars Movie, Mate?!' The astronaut looks confused.

Scott Clissold, “Got a spare ticket for the new Star Wars movie, mate?!”, Daily Star, 16 December 2015. Reference: Scott Clissold Digital Collection CLD0549

37. Osbert Lancaster, “Just think, Gretchen! Halfway to the moon! One day, perhaps, science will be able to tell us how to reach West Berlin!”, Daily Express, 14 Aug 1962. Reference: Cuttings Collection 02019

38. Carl Giles, “Be funny if the Moon Men thought she was an Earth Man and made her their ruler”, Daily Express, 05 Nov 1957. Reference: Carl Giles Trust collection CG/1/4/1/3/12/3 (GAA121419) 

The Commonwealth

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Dr Balasubramanyam Chandramohan:

  1. Margaret Belsky, “After all why shouldn’t the Queen protest – I expect she gets fed up with the rest of the Commonwealth criticising Britain all the time”, The Sun, 08 January 1969. Reference: Cuttings Collection 14577 
  2. Jak [Raymond Jackson], “Je demande que la Grande Bretagne soit chassee du Commonwealth si elle vend des armes a l’Afrique du sud”, Evening Standard, 20 October 1970. Reference: Cuttings Collection 18825 
  3. Michael Cummings , “Really, Mr. Stewart, it might come as a merciful release if Britain could be expelled from the Commonwealth”, Daily Express, 25 June 1965. Reference: Cuttings Collection 07292 
  4. Carl Giles, “And Rajah – be a good chap and control those long rumbling tummy noises during the Commonwealth speeches.”, Daily Express, 24 November 1983. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3239 (GA4603) 
  5. Will Dyson, Our big brother and the little strangers, Daily Herald, Undated. Reference: Will Dyson Collection WD0597 

Will Dyson, Our big brother and the little strangers, Daily Herald, Undated. Reference: Will Dyson Collection WD0597

Ronald ‘Carl’ Giles

The cartoons for this theme were selected and described by Cam Matthews: 

44. Carl Ronald Giles, “An appeal has been made for every nurse to be off duty during the inquiry into the Nurses v. Hospital Authorities dispute in Guernsey.” Daily Express, 16th July 1957. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/973 (GA1328) 

45. Carl Ronald Giles, “We’ve been thinking about your parrot, Grandma. Supposing we can’t get a turkey for Christmas…” Daily Express, 25th November 1947. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3787 (GA5454) 

46. Grandma Giles doll made by Dorothy Read, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/5/3/39 (GAX00058)  

Image of a doll of the character Grandma created by Carl Giles. Grandma is wearing a black hat with a blue trim, and a black dress. She carries a black handbag with a clasp, and an umbrella with a duck head handle, and is also wearing a brown fur stole.

Grandma Giles doll made by Dorothy Read, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/5/3/39 (GAX00058)

47. Carl Ronald Giles, “I’m jotting down a list of all the ones who aren’t laughing their heads off.” Daily Express, 17th February 1987. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/1/3532 (GA5027) 

48. Police Helmet, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/4/1/45 (GAX00085) 

49. Ink, paint and paintbrushes from Giles’ studio, Undated. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection (uncatalogued) 

50. Carl Ronald Giles, “Well, well, well, well, well! Man have they got your number!” Sunday Express, 1st March 1970. Reference: Carl Giles Trust Collection CG/1/1/2/802 (GA2779) 

Cartooning Covid-19 – call for volunteer participants

About the project 

Nicholas Newman, The Sunday Times, 01 Mar 2020. ©
Nick Newman (ref: 109242)

‘Cartooning Covid-19’ will be a 10-week volunteering project which aims to make available cartoons published in national papers during the Covid 19 pandemic between March and December 2020. Through cataloguing these cartoons, we ensure that this important period in recent history is captured in the cartoon catalogue of the British Cartoon Archive for use in learning, teaching and research.

The British Cartoon Archive collects the cartoons published each week in national newspapers (The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Independent). This encapsulates work by artists such as Bob Moran, Nicholas Newman, Peter Schrank, Morten Morland, Peter Brookes and more. 

 

To participate in this project please email cartoons@kent.ac.uk. 

Practicalities 

The project will be carried out using a hybrid model of in-person group sessions and remote virtual cataloguing. However, this opportunity is open to all, so if you do not live locally to Canterbury, you are welcome to join as a fully remote participant. Similarly, if you would prefer to participate in person only, that’s ok too. 

Volunteers will be provided with full training as part of the project, including sessions from the archive team about the BCA and the work they carry out to preserve it and make it available, and they will be given access to library resources where possible, such as newspaper archives and both physical and digital cartoon collections. 

Volunteers will be given a set of cartoons published between March and December 2020, which they will be asked to catalogue by listing details about the cartoons into a spreadsheet with supervision from the Special Collections and Archives team. At the end of the project the resulting spreadsheets of data will be uploaded to the British Cartoon Archive catalogue alongside digital cartoon copies, making these resources available to the public.  

Special Collections and Archives will provide refreshments at in-person events (lunch will not be provided). 

Michael Heath, The Mail on sunday, 05 April 2020. ©Associated Newspapers Ltd. (ref: 109333)

Schedule 

  • In-person sessions will be held fortnightly on Tuesdays from 3rd October through to 5th December 2023 (10 weeks). Sessions will run from 10:30-16:00 with an hour break for lunch. For online only participants, you would be invited to attend the welcome day sessions virtually on Tuesday October 3rd, after which you will be provided with digital copies to describe and catalogue. 
  • Optional online drop-in sessions will be scheduled virtually (via Microsoft Teams) for one hour every other week from Thursday 12th October. These sessions will enable Special Collections and Archives to provide virtual support for volunteers between in-person sessions, while also providing an opportunity for socialising and peer support. 
  • Volunteers are encouraged to participate remotely between in-person sessions. Resources will be made available online through Google Drive.   

Requirements 

There are no specific prerequisites for participating volunteers, however this project will likely suit those with an interest in political satire, art and graphic design, UK politics, or those wishing to learn more about archives.  

Volunteers should be comfortable with using websites and online catalogues, and in using spreadsheets. 

A laptop will be needed for participation during in-person sessions.  These can be supplied by Special Collections and Archives on request, but numbers are very limited so please indicate in advance if this is required. Volunteers are encouraged to provide their own devices where available.  

For remote participation, volunteers will need to have their own laptop or personal computer with internet connection, as well as access to a Google account.  

To participate in this project please email cartoons@kent.ac.uk. 

Morten Morland, The Times 27 April 2020. ©News UK (ref: 109373)

Reflections on the Great British Fish & Chips – Exhibition launch and new blog series!

Welcome to the first blog in a series relating to our new exhibition – Reflections on the Great British Fish and Chips. In the middle of Refugee Week, on Wednesday 22nd June 2022, we celebrated the launch of our exhibition and the fantastic work of our volunteer Research and Curation Group! Over a some delicious refreshments we were able to give visitors the first taste of the new exhibition in the Templeman Gallery.

View of the exhibition launch speeches with a group of people in an exhibition gallery at the Templeman Library

Attendees at the launch hearing from Basma El Doukhi, Karen Brayshaw, Beth Astridge and Tom Green

The original exhibition – The Great British Fish and Chips – was commissioned by Counterpoint Arts in 2021, in partnership with Canterbury Cathedral and Turner Contemporary, Margate. Reportage artist Olivier Kugler, and writer Andrew Humphreys, interviewed and illustrated the stories and experiences of fish and chips shop owners across Kent. They explored the history of fish and chips, Britain’s national dish, and discovered that it could not exist without global trade and migration.

Our hosting of this travelling exhibition also includes a display of items from the University of Kent Special Collections & Archives. The exhibition and display will be open until the end of September 2022.

Research and Curation Group:

This exhibition and display has been co-curated with group of volunteers who formed a Research and Curation Group. The group spent two sessions exploring the original material in Special Collections & Archives, selecting items that particularly interested them, and writing captions to describe their item and explain their selection for the exhibition.

Themes explored by the Research and Curation Group included attitudes to migrant communities in Britain today and in the past, immigration policy in the UK, the development of the fishing industry, the maritime history of places in Kent, and expressions of British ‘ownership’ of the seas in the past as expressed in our theatre collections.

Photography and hand-stitched dress:

We are also delighted to display photography by Rania Saadalah, introduced to us by Basma El Doukhi, our colleague and one of the project leads for this exhibition. Rania’s photographs use visual storytelling to share the stories of inspiring people living in the Palestinian Camps in Lebanon, and depict the preparation of foods such as falafel, ma’amoul, and traditionally baked breads, as well as fisherman at work. Through these images we explore how people and be brought together by sharing food, stories and cultural traditions.

Basma El Doukhi with a group of other people looking at the Fish and Chips exhibition. Basma is gesturing and explaining the photographs on the wall.

Basma El Doukhi explains the background to the photographs by Rania Saadalah

Look out for future blogs in this series in the coming weeks – with contributions from participants in the Research and Curation Group and from Basma and Rania. The blogs will describe our volunteer’s experiences working on the project, and provide images of the items alongside the captions used in our exhibition.

 

Exploring Italian books in Special Collections – a view from our work experience student Andrea

By walking in a labyrinth of ancient books and rare materials from the past, I’ve found some books which reminded me of my country and my homeland.

One of them was particularly eye-catching thanks to its size and its green cover full of detailed designs in gold and black. I knew it was about my Home because of the bright title marked on the centre of the cover: Rome. I could not control my instinct of curiosity and so I chose to read that one.

'Rome' by Francis Wey - q DG 806

‘Rome’ by Francis Wey – q DG 806

 

First of all I’ve found out that what I was holding in my hands was a book older than me, published in 1872 and written by Francis Wey. I thought it was going to be in Italian, but then I discovered it was in English and so I realised how much important traveling was, even in the ‘800s, and that human’s curiosity makes us travel seas and countries to be satisfied. And also, by going through some pages I’ve seen some really interesting illustrations: it was funny try to guess what part of Rome they were representing, and also it made me think about how the time changed those places during the years.

 

I had in my hands and in 552 pages one big wonderful city, my big wonderful city, and probably this is what made me choose the book at first sight.

Another one that I decided to look at was a little book (quartos, I think they call them) from 1828 with a design of red lions on the front white cover made of a material that lasts well during the years and does not make the book look as older as it actually is [vellum]. The title, “Ossian Poesie”, was on the spine and it looked like someone else has written it on by using an old pen.

Poesie di Ossian, PD 3546.1 Spec Coll

Poesie di Ossian, PD 3546.1 Spec Coll

Unlike the book about Rome, this one was completely in Italian. I’ve found myself wondering about why there wasn’t any English in a book placed in a library in England, and I came to a conclusion about the fact that there might be some Italian students, or someone who was studying this language, that could have enjoyed it.
By reading some pages I understood the contest was about Irish royals, and it made me even more curious about why did an Italian writer, called Melchior Cesarotti, write about something which happened in another part of the planet.

Poesie di Ossian, PD 3546.1 Spec Coll

Poesie di Ossian, PD 3546.1 Spec Coll

If it depended by me, I would have stayed around all those books for days and days, reading about everything from science to theatre, from geography to history.

Andrea Wlderk spent her Year 10 work experience placement with the Special Collections & Archives team this week. Having recently moved to Canterbury from Rome, she’s fluent in Italian, Spanish and English and wanted to know more about library work. Andrea learnt about how Special Collections departments are run and the activities we do, discovered our collections, shadowed meetings, was trained in basic conservation principles and worked in the stores with our volunteer team. Thank you so much, Andrea – we hope you had fun!

Five Fascinating Artefacts

Work placement volunteer, Ellis Spicer, explores the new exhibition in the new library:

It’s already been an action-packed 2016 for the Special Collections and Archives at the University of Kent’s Templeman Library. Their ‘Comedy on Stage and Page’ exhibition is up and ready for perusal displayed in the newly built Templeman West Wing on Level 1 of the library. This exhibition embodies the crossover between the British Cartoon Archive and Stand-Up Comedy Archive, founded forty years apart but very much complementary to each other.

Throughout my time browsing the exhibition, my favourites began to emerge. You may agree, you may disagree. The exhibition features treasures from the collections at Kent, so come along to choose your favourites too!

  1. ‘The Young Ones’ Script, Alexie Sayle Collection

Ellen 1

My first favourite from the exhibition was Alexei Sayle’s script from episode 3 of the second and final series of the Young Ones. For me, this stood out as an item in the collection due to its personalised nature of what seems to be a generic script. This script reveals Sayle’s expressive, cursive handwriting and an absent-minded doodle of a car. It’s nice to know that even the rich and famous still get bored and doodle, whilst referring to themselves as Señor.

2. Bomber Blair, Leon Kuhn Collection

Ellen 4Ellen 2Ellen 3

My second favourite item from the exhibition is an image of Tony Blair that changes depending on the angle you look at it (for photos of different angles see below). I felt the poignant message that the artist, Leon Kuhn, was trying to portray about Blair’s foreign policy, especially once you know how anti-war the artist himself was. The collage style itself is also fascinating and really stood out for me, and the view from different angles resonated with me as the different angles such a complex situation can be looked at.

3. Tory Toff Speak (with subtitles), Chris Riddell (British Cartoon Archive)

Ellen 5,

My third favourite item from the exhibition was the image ‘Tory Toff Speak’ with subtitles, featuring David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Parliamentary talk in debates is notoriously ridden with euphemisms due to MP’s potentially being ejected from debates for ‘unparliamentary language’. This image shows a ‘translation’ of that euphemistic dialogue.

4. Rendezvous, David Low (British Cartoon Archive)

Ellen 6

My fourth favourite item from the exhibition resonated with me due to my background as a History MA student specialising in the Second World War. Here Hitler and Stalin greet each other rather cordially, ‘doffing their caps’ to each other in a sign of deference. The two extreme political leaders greet each other politely yet their words disagree. Overall I feel the suggestion that the artists wonders whether the two polar opposite ideological leaders are that different at all….

5. Votes and violence, W.K Haselden (British Cartoon Archive)

Ellen 7

My last favourite item from the exhibition is a Suffragette cartoon by artist W.K.Haselden from 1909. It suggests that militant suffragette activities was not going to be successful, and that violence could not win the vote. With hindsight, women’s wartime contribution has been argued to be more influential, and I found it interesting how hindsight connected with the past views.

Overall, an intriguing exhibition that I thoroughly recommend you see for yourself on Level 1 of the West Wing of the Templeman Library.

Written by Ellis Spicer, student work placement in Special Collections and Archives.