British Cartoon Archive

The British Cartoon Archive is a collection of over 150,000 images housed at The University of Kent at Canterbury. The archive is open to visitors the year round, but its digital equivalent now makes satirical newspaper cartoons from the likes of Giles, Mac, Ralph Steadman and Steve Bell accessible to a global audience.

BACKGROUND

The digital archive, which is funded by JISC and The Arts and Humanities Research Council, draws on a collection which was established in 1973 at The University of Kent. The cartoons date from the beginning of the twentieth century and go right up until the present day. As you might expect, they are far more insightful and provocative, and certainly much funnier, than the average newspaper editorial. These comic barbs not only demonstrate the richness of the British tradition of visual satire, but also represent a collective cultural heritage that has informed everything from Spitting Image to Chris Morris. They also offer an extremely valuable resource to cultural and social historians of twentieth century Britain.

THE ARCHIVE ONLINE

The archive is searchable by artist name. A search will take you to digitised reproductions of cartoons which you can zoom in and out of. The site also provides detailed biographies, as well as insight into the context within which the cartoons were produced. The Cartoon of the Day and Featured Cartoonist sections help keep the site fresh and any teachers looking to exploit this material in the classroom can register on the site and get involved.

There is so much to enjoy here, but there is one name missing. While you can read about the life and work of Gerald Scarfe you will not be able to look at reproductions of his inspired cartoons. Mr Scarfe refused permission. Why not lobby the great satirist? As one of the key figures of late twentieth century caricature, his work belongs in this archive.

THE FUTURE

A series of video interviews with contemporary cartoonists will explore the art of the cartoon and discuss ways in which cartoons can be read. It is hoped that this will provide a means to access critical and analytic interpretations of cartoons which will appeal to a younger generation that has been reared on the immediacy of video.