introduction: visual collections as historical evidence

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This article was downloaded by: [Tulane University] On: 09 October 2014, At: 21:02 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gvir20 Introduction: Visual Collections as Historical Evidence Katy LaytonJones Published online: 18 Mar 2010. To cite this article: Katy LaytonJones (2008) Introduction: Visual Collections as Historical Evidence, Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation, 24:2, 105-107, DOI: 10.1080/01973760802042606 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01973760802042606 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

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Page 1: Introduction: Visual Collections as Historical Evidence

This article was downloaded by: [Tulane University]On: 09 October 2014, At: 21:02Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Visual Resources: An InternationalJournal of DocumentationPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gvir20

Introduction: Visual Collections asHistorical EvidenceKaty Layton‐JonesPublished online: 18 Mar 2010.

To cite this article: Katy Layton‐Jones (2008) Introduction: Visual Collections as HistoricalEvidence, Visual Resources: An International Journal of Documentation, 24:2, 105-107, DOI:10.1080/01973760802042606

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01973760802042606

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Introduction: Visual Collections as Historical Evidence

Introduction: Visual Collections as Historical

Evidence

Katy Layton-Jones

This special issue of Visual Resources is offered as a response to the changing status of visualcollections as historical evidence and explores the potential challenges and opportunitiesfacing those who use these often undervalued resources. The intention is to make asubstantial contribution to emerging debates surrounding the potential uses and accessibilityof visual collections for the purposes of historical research. It also aims to redress the currentimbalance between visual sources and more traditional documentary, statistical and verbalevidence as employed by academic historians.

Keywords: Visual Collections; Imagination; Cultural History; Digitization; Illustration;Cataloging; Access

Visual material has long been treated as a secondary consideration, a luxury that

embellishes rather than underpins historical arguments. In 1988, Roy Porter

challenged the academic community to engage with visual material on a more

sophisticated level and develop the framework necessary to interpret ‘‘the significance

of visual signs.’’1 Yet, twenty years later, Porter’s challenge remains unmet, and

documentary, verbal and numerical evidence continues to enjoy superior status in the

established fields of economic, social and political history. The range of subjects and

audiences for historical research has broadened over recent decades. However, the

role of visual material continues to be primarily illustrative. In an age defined by the

diversity and sophistication of its visual culture, a superficial engagement with visual

collections is no longer defensible.

Previously, one of the greatest inhibitors of visual scholarship was the

inaccessibility of many collections, particularly where the material was poorly

cataloged or considered too fragile to handle or photograph. Where photographic

reproduction was possible, the cost of high-quality imagery made the dissemination

of such material prohibitively expensive. Hard-copy catalogs were costly, as well as

complicated to compile, and seldom incorporated any visual imagery. These issues

combined to ensure that even those who sought to enrich their research with visual

material found the initial task of identification and location disheartening and

unfruitful. Consequently, many collections of ephemeral or fragile visual material

have, for decades, passed under the radar of academic history. In recent years, the

issue of identification and accessibility has been tackled and, in some instances,

conquered by the arrival of electronic cataloging, online access and digital publishing.

Visual Resources, Volume 24, Number 2, June 2008

ISSN 0197–3762 # 2008 Taylor & Francis

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With digitization, the problems of identification and access can be overcome, but

only through ongoing cooperation between the academic community, archivists and

museum professionals.

The outlook for such a collaborative approach is good. In recent years, the

academic community has witnessed the expansion of cultural history, a sub-

discipline that enables an interdisciplinary approach and so permits a heavier reliance

upon visual evidence than that tolerated in the more traditional historical disciplines.

Peer-reviewed journals and academic series have been established to serve the

increasing interest in cultural themes and innovative methodological approaches to

under-exploited material.2 Understandably, much of the research hitherto published

under the broad heading of ‘‘cultural history’’ focuses upon genres of visual imagery

closely associated with traditional verbal and printed evidence. Historical prints,

newspaper illustrations and caricatures have emerged as particularly popular spheres

of research as scholars seek to unite existing critiques of verbal printed material with

the illustrations that accompanied them.3 Yet, rather than enabling the integration of

visual imagery into the established canon of historical evidence, the creation of the

distinct field of ‘‘cultural history’’ has potentially distanced visual collections further

from mainstream historical research. For the most part, the academic community

remains suspicious of awarding visual material equal status to traditional text-based

evidence, preferring instead to concede that visual imagery is fundamentally more

fictionalized, and therefore less credible, than the written word. Rather than elevating

the status of visual collections, this concession merely serves to reinforce the

perceived fallibility of visual material as a reliable and fruitful historical source.

Many of the following articles were first delivered at a conference in October

2006 entitled ‘‘Getting the Picture: Using Visual Collections as Historical Evidence,’’

organized by Craig Horner of the People’s History Museum, Manchester, England,

with the assistance of David Stewart from the University of Central Lancashire,

Preston. The panels brought together academic historians, heritage professionals and

curators in an attempt to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing models for

managing, cataloging, researching and citing visual collections. Throughout the

conference a number of questions recurred, each of which indicated potential

improvements to existing curatorial and research practices: How can the burgeoning

number of ‘‘virtual’’ collections be cited and accredited equal status to the physical

objects they replicate? To what extent should the class marks attributed to visual

collections be standardized across institutions to permit comprehensive and

intelligible referencing? How can the issues of agency be resolved for unattributed

ephemeral imagery? These questions represent merely a few of those explored in this

special issue and serve only to indicate the scale of the challenge facing curators,

archivists and historians of visual collections in the twenty-first century.

KATY LAYTON-JONES is a Research Associate at the University of Liverpool and

Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester.

Having completed a PhD in British history at the University of Cambridge, she is now

engaged on an ESRC-funded research project examining the historic significance of

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urban parks and open spaces. A visiting lecturer at City University, she has recently co-

edited New Perspectives in British Cultural History (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars

Publishing, 2007) and is the Reviews Editor for Urban History. Her forthcoming

publications include Places of Health and Amusement (Swindon: English Heritage, 2008);

and ‘‘The Synthesis of Town and Trade: Visualising Provincial Urban Identity 1800–

1851,’’ Urban History 35, no. 1 (2008).

[1] Roy Porter, ‘‘Seeing the Past,’’ Past and Present 118 (1988): 186–205.

[2] See Cultural and Social History; Visual Resources; Victorian Literature and Culture;

the ‘‘Studies in Popular Culture’’ series published by Manchester University Press;

and the ‘‘Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories’’ series introduced by Cambridge

University Press in 2004.

[3] Vic Gatrell, City of Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London (London:

Atlantic Books, 2006); and Cindy McCreery, The Satirical Gaze: Prints of Women in

Late Eighteeth-Century England (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). [See Laura

Baudot’s review of Gatrell on pp. 201–7 in this issue.]

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