Welcome to our collection of contextual essays covering culture.

To support libraries, researchers, and educators, we regularly commission academics to write contextual essays that explore topics using our digital primary source archives.

These essays relate to topics ranging from the Great Exhibition of 1851 to the development of sports coverage in newspapers: use the links below to read any essays of interest.

Entertainment | Events | Leisure | Sport

Food in Punch: Representations of Culinary Culture

Annie Grey, Food Historian

From the Punch Historical Archive

Landscape, Geography and Exploration

Dane Kennedy, George Washington University

From Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals

Themes of Medievalism in Punch

Sandra Martina Schwab, Johannes Gutenburg University

From the Punch Historical Archive

ENTERTAINMENT

Comic Periodicals

Nicholas Hiley, University of Kent

From Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals

Leisure, Entertainment and Popular Culture

Peter Bailey, University of Manitoba

From Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals

Representations of Courtship and Marriage in Cartoons of the Mid-Victorian Period

Jennifer Phegley, University of Missouri-Kansas City

From the Punch Historical Archive

The llustrated London News and 'Our Note Book'

Julia Stapleton, Durham University

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

The llustrated London News and 'Our Note Book'

Julia Stapleton, Durham University

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

The llustrated London News: Celebrities and Gossip Columns

Sally Mitchell, Temple University, Philadelphia

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

EVENTS

The Crystal Palace and Great Exhibition of 1851

Ed King, University of Cambridge

From British Library Newspapers

The llustrated London News and International Exhibitions

Thomas Prasch, Washburn University

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

The llustrated London News and Disasters

Kristine Moritz, University of Alberta

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

LEISURE

Leisure and Sport

John Lowerson, University of Sussex

From Nineteenth Century UK Periodicals

The llustrated London News and Museums

Thomas Prasch, Washburn University

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

The llustrated London News and Travel

Clare Horrocks, Liverpool John Moores University

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

SPORT

Sports Reporting

Amy J. Lloyd, University of Cambridge

From British Library Newspapers

The llustrated London News and Sport

Steve Tate, Independent Researcher, Historian and Journalist

From the Illustrated London News Historical Archive

The International Herald Tribune 1887-1918: the symbiotic development of modern sport and an international press

Hugh Dauncey and Geoff Hare

From the International Herald Tribune Historical Archive

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DISCLAIMER

Any views and opinions expressed in these essays are those of the author in question, and any views or opinions from the original source material are those of the publication in question. Gale, part of Cengage Group, provides facsimile reproductions of original sources and do not endorse or dispute the content contained in them. Author affiliation and information within them are correct as of the original publication date.

Featured archives

BRITISH LIBRARY NEWSPAPERS

Consisting of six parts, this series forms one of the largest collections of regional newspapers from the UK, providing an alternative voice to the major national newspapers. This project has digitised titles from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, providing over 200 years of rare documents.

ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS HISTORICAL ARCHIVE, 1842-2003

When it first launched, this innovative publication started a revolution in journalism and news reporting. It provided an unprecedented visual tour of the triumphs, tragedies, daily life, and monumental events of the world and the modern British Empire – and every issue is contained here.

NINETEENTH CENTURY UK PERIODICALS

This project was undertaken in response to demand from scholarly communities, and the two resulting archives support researchers in almost every subject area. They contain well known publications alongside obscure documents, covering everything from hobby interests to issues of global importance.

PUNCH HISTORICAL ARCHIVE, 1841-1992

This archive includes nearly 7,900 issues from all volumes of Punch, the world's most celebrated magazine of wit and satire. It contains Almanacks and special numbers, and in collaboration with Liverpool John Moore’s University, authorship has been attributed and made searchable using the ledgers.