Library of Congress update

The Library of Congress announced an update to the Chronicling America upload process this week. In the past, after data had been checked and accepted by the NDNP staff, it was held until periodic updates were made to the site. Now, data will be ingested as soon as it has been accepted, making the turnaround time from digitization to upload a lot quicker.

You can see, in real time, which batches are currently being uploaded: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/events/  Tennessee batches start with “batch_tu_”. batch_tu_dottie and batch_tu_frank were uploaded earlier this week (batch_tu_ernie must still be in the queue). Titles in these batches include the Camden Chronicle, Columbia Herald, Pulaski Citizen, Bolivar Bulletin, Memphis Appeal, Winchester Home Journal, and the Nashville Globe.

Nashville Globe. March 2, 1917.
Nashville Globe. March 2, 1917.

Ernest E. Burtt, cartoonist

I found a fascinating little publication in UT’s Special Collections a few weeks ago. I was doing some research for the next phase of TNDP (NEH grant application pending), when I came across this 1903 booklet, The Journal and Tribune’s Book of Cartoons. The Knoxville-based cartoonist was Ernest E. Burtt. A quick search online led me to a website rich in information about cartoons and cartoonists: the International Team of Comic Historians, aka ITCH.* The website contained a page scanned from the May 1913 issue of Cartoons Magazine (see below), featuring many cartoonists, and amongst them – Ernest E. Burtt. The page gives a short bio and even a photo of the artist. The piece also solved the mystery of who the little creature was that kept popping up in the Journal and Tribune‘s editorial cartoons – Rad the dog!

Cartoons Magazine. May 1913.
Cartoons Magazine. May 1913.
Source: ITCH website, http://superitch.com/ [no longer available]
From the publication, the [Knoxville] Journal and Tribune Cartoons, 1909. Source: University of Tennessee Special Collections, Hodges Library
From the publication, the [Knoxville] Journal and Tribune Cartoons, 1903. Source: University of Tennessee Special Collections, Hodges Library
* Sadly, the ITCH website no longer exists, as of Feb 2014. The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has some pages archived.