DESCRIPTION The British Cartoon Archive, previously known as the Centre for the Study of Cartoons and Caricature, was established in 1973, as a research centre and picture library, based upon a unique archive of over 85,000 pieces of cartoon artwork supported by a reference library of newspaper cuttings, books, catalogues, and AV materials.
OBJECTIVES
The British Cartoon Archive's main objectives are to conserve and catalogue cartoons; to encourage research into all aspects and periods of cartooning; to plan and promote exhibitions of cartoon originals; and to service teaching in a variety of diciplines. The Archive is widely used by outside researchers, authors, teachers, the media and graduate students.
RESEARCH FACILITIES
Facilities for research include a unique computer database containing details of the main cartoon collections held in the archive which can be searched online. Cartoons can be found under any of the cataloguing terms used (eg cartoonist, publication, date, name or subject). The computer displays the cartoon's image and the cataloguing details. For publication purposes, photographs with supporting copyright details can be ordered through the feedback section for information on prices see our scale of charges.
The Archive is located in the Templeman Library at the University of Kent, Canterbury. It contains over 100,000 drawings of editorial, socio-political, and pocket cartoons as well as comic strips. The collection dates back to 1904 and includes work by W.K.Hasleden, Will Dyson, Sidney 'George' Strube, David Low,Vicky, Emmwood, Michael Cummings, Ralph Steadman, Mel Calman, Nicholas Garland, Chris Riddell, Carl Giles amongst many others. Large donations and extended loans have been made by individuals, cartoonists and institutions.
Part of cartoon by Strube Daily Express 23/3/1929
No purchases of cartoons are ever made. The British Cartoon Archive accepts not only entire portfolios of an artist's work but also representative examples usually selected by the artists themselves. The collection continues to grow rapidly. Along with its original drawings, the British Cartoon Archive has a library of over 5,000 books, periodicals and cuttings on cartoons, caricature and humour.
The British Cartoon Archive is at the forefront of cartoon collections around the world in that it offers access to its unrivalled archive through an ever expanding computerised database which retrieves both the cataloguing information and the cartoon image. This data includes the cartoonist's name, where and when the cartoon was published, the characters depicted, the caption and the cartoon text. Items of interest such as preliminary sketches, editorial amendments, or caption changes are recorded, along with the size and condition of the cartoon.
The British Cartoon Archive loans original cartoon artwork to museums and galleries both nationally and worldwide. It also undertakes sponsored touring and commissioned exhibitions.
In May 1996 the Britich Cartoon Archive started cataloguing the editorial cartoons from the national newspapers, including brief descriptions of the relevant news of the day.
Published in The Guardian 3/5/1997 Copyright Steve Bell
The Archive is located in the Templeman Library at the 
