All posts by jwbaker

James Baker is Director of Digital Humanities at the University of Southampton. James is a Software Sustainability Institute Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and holds degrees from the University of Southampton and latterly the University of Kent, where in 2010 he completed his doctoral research on the late-Georgian artist-engraver Isaac Cruikshank. James works at the intersection of history, cultural heritage, and digital technologies. He is currently working on a history of knowledge organisation in twentieth century Britain. In 2021, I begin a major new Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project 'Beyond Notability: Re-evaluating Women’s Work in Archaeology, History and Heritage, 1870 – 1950'. Previous externally funded research projects have focused on legacy descriptions of art objects ('Legacies of Catalogue Descriptions and Curatorial Voice: Opportunities for Digital Scholarship', Arts and Humanities Research Council), the preservation of intangible cultural heritage ('Coptic Culture Conservation Collective', British Council, and 'Heritage Repertoires for inclusive and sustainable development', British Academy), the born digital archival record ('Digital Forensics in the Historical Humanities', European Commission), and decolonial futures for museum collections ('Making African Connections: Decolonial Futures for Colonial Collections', Arts and Humanities Research Council). Prior to joining Southampton, James held positions of Senior Lecturer in Digital History and Archives at the University of Sussex and Director of the Sussex Humanities Lab, Digital Curator at the British Library, and Postdoctoral Fellow with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. He is a member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College, a convenor of the Institute of Historical Research Digital History seminar, a member of The Programming Historian Editorial Board and a Director of ProgHist Ltd (Company Number 12192946), and an International Advisory Board Member of British Art Studies.

Henry Mayo Bateman

Tomorrow (11 April) sees the launch of the The Man Who Went Made on Paper, a retrospective exhibition of the work of H. M. Bateman (1887-1970) at The Cartoon Museum, London. Yesterday a team of plucky volunteers (myself included) and staff  erected this huge exhibition (certainly featuring more pictures than I’ve ever seen in the museum) in our now typical frenzy of activity.

Cartoonist and caricaturist Henry Mayo Bateman (1887 - 1970) works on one of his sketches at his home in Reigate, Surrey

Bateman is perhaps best known for his “The Man Who…” series, yet the exhibition reveals a cartoonist whose concerns (like those of so many great humorists) reach beyond the contexts of his own time. His A Slight Misunderstanding At The Till, for example, takes a swipe at police heavy-handedness in a manner which would no doubt resonate with supporters of UK Uncut.

I’ve uploaded some pictures from ‘the hang’ here and heartily recommend anyone interested in comic art visit this delightful show.

The Man Who Went Made on Paper, opens 11 April and runs until 22 July at The Cartoon Museum, 35 Little Russell St, London WC1A 2HH.