Ireland in Literature 1798-1998

Introduction

This guide accompanies an in-class workshop about searching digitized 19th century newspapers for political cartoons about the Irish.

Questions? Email the English & Film Studies Librarian: mefischer@wlu.ca

Here's an example of this kind of research in action: The Rise of Victorian Caricature (available online).

Here's an example of a digital humanities project using an online exhibition tool (Omeka) available through Laurier Library: Canadian Cold War Propaganda Posters. 

Search Tips

Tip #1 Take Notes and Start Early

• Try using this Notes Template to track what you do and gather key information for your assignment. This kind of research takes time and concentration, but it's fun!

Tip #2 Use Simple Keywords

• Use as few terms as possible.
• Consider the language of the time.
• Try different term variations (vampire, bloodsucker, monster, devil, criminal).
• It can be tough to find cartoons by keyword, you often need to browse digitized publications.

Tip #3 Use Search Limits

• Search limits help control results. You can limit by:
  • Document type (e.g. "editorial cartoon")
  • Date range (e.g. 1800 - 1900) if needed

Where to Search

Digital Newspaper Collections

These collections have scanned and searchable images of newspapers and other periodical publications.

• 19th Century UK Periodicals
  • Full-text scans of nearly 600 titles sourced from the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, and other specialist libraries. Dates of coverage: 1800-1900.
• C19: The Nineteenth Century Index
  • Index to books, journals, magazines, official documents and newspapers. Dates of coverage: 1770-1919
• Illustrated London News
  • The world's first fully illustrated weekly newspaper, The Illustrated London News, was first published on Saturday, May 14, 1842. Dates of coverage: 1842-2003.
• The Times Digital Archive
  • The Times is considered an authoritative medium for political, legal, business and social news. Dates of coverage: 1875-2014.
• British Library Newspapers 
  • This digital archive includes 47 papers originating in England, Scotland, and Ireland, carefully selected by an editorial board from the British Library. Dates of coverage: 1800-1900.

Cartoon-Specific Collections

• Irish Home Rule Political Cartoons
  • This digital collection consists of 19th century political cartoons addressing Irish political issues of the time.
• Punch, Search Cartoons
  • Punch, a magazine of humour and satire, ran from 1841-2002.
• British Cartoon Archive
  • Artwork in the British Cartoon Archive (BCA) dates from 19th century to the present day,

Citing in MLA Style - Template for Political Cartoons

Artist's Last Name, First Name. "Title or Description of Cartoon." Publication Title, date of publication day month year, URL. Accessed on date.