In Search of Punch's Pocket Book: A Digital Treasure Hunt

Summary : Abstract—Join me on a treasure hunt as we try to discover digital images of, and from, Punch’s Pocket Book. On the way, we will reflect on the value and significance of different ways of making nineteenth-century illustrations searchable online so that they can be retrieved by users. We will look behind the scenes (or screens) of digital archives and explore the advantages and disadvantages of methods for image searchability, including manual ‘tagging’ or marking up pictures, crowdsourcing, and the latest computer vision and AI tools. These methods play an increasingly large part in how we research and engage with historical illustrations. They will be analysed not as mechanical or neutral activities, but as critical interventions, which involve actively interpreting these images and rendering them visible or invisible.

As with any event, our treasure hunt will involve a risk assessment. As we move from a digital to an AI culture, what are the potential pitfalls in terms of access to and retrievability of nineteenth-century illustrations? The paper argues for the vital importance of Punch’s Pocket Book Archive in this new environment. This project will make it possible for us to find our treasure.

Biography : Professor Julia Thomas FLSW, FRSA ,School of English, Communication and Philosophy / Ysgol Saesneg, Cyfathrebu ac Athroniaeth
Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd