By Tim Causer, on 27 March 2013
‘Many hands make light work. Many hands together make merry work‘
So wrote the philosopher and reformer, Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832) in 1793. In this spirit, we cordially welcome you to Transcribe Bentham, a double award-winning collaborative transcription initiative, which is digitising and making available digital images of Bentham’s unpublished manuscripts through a platform known as the ‘Transcription Desk‘. There, you can access the material and—just as importantly—transcribe the material, to help the work of UCL’s Bentham Project, and further improve access to, and searchability of, this enormously important collection of historical and philosophical material.
This is an exciting opportunity to make a genuine difference to research and scholarship by contributing to the production of the new edition of The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham, and to help create for posterity a vast digital repository of Bentham’s writings. We warmly invite you to take part in this endeavour: no special skills are required, you do not require approval to participate, and every contribution—no matter how small—is of great value to Transcribe Bentham.
Please consult the Transcribe Bentham FAQ for more details on taking part.
You can also read more about Jeremy Bentham, his thought and his importance, and consult resources on deciphering historical handwriting.
Find out more about the consortium behind Transcribe Bentham, and talks and publications by the project team.
By Tim Causer, on 14 June 2013
Welcome to the progress update for the period 1 to 7 June, during which time further good progress has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers. 7,100 words of Bentham text have been transcribed this week, along with 2,619 words of TEI XML. We are also delighted to say that the TB conversion rate has increased further, so that 95% of all transcripts submitted by volunteers have met the required standards, and have been locked. This is a fantastic achievement, particularly so given the difficulty of reading Bentham’s handwriting.
5,676 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially transcribed, which is an increase of 23 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 5,368 (95%) are of the required standard and have been locked, up 30 on this time last week.
The more detailed state of progress is as follows:
Perhaps the most interesting find this week was a manuscript transcribed by Jonathan Targett and Rob Magin, in which Bentham tells us how to bake bread.
Thank you again, as ever, to all those who have given their time and effort in transcribing manuscripts during the last seven days. It remains greatly appreciated by us all.
By Tim Causer, on 7 June 2013
Welcome to the progress update for the period 1 to 7 June 2013, during which time further steady progress has been made by TB volunteers. 7,128 words of Bentham text were transcribed this week, plus another 3,050 words of TEI XML. Yesterday was the 181st anniversary of Bentham’s death in 1832, and he would be delighted to see that his works were still of such interest.
5,653 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 17 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 5,368 (94.9%) have met the required standards and have been locked, up 18 on last week’s total.
The more detailed state of progress is as follows:
In other TB-related news this week:
Thank you, as ever, to all who have given their time to Transcribe Bentham during the last seven days. It remains greatly appreciated by us all.
By Tim Causer, on 6 June 2013
Earlier this year, UCL opened its new Octagon Gallery, a new exhibition space for displaying research being carried out at the College. Each exhibition lasts six months, and the newest is on the theme of ‘Digital Transformations’, curated by Claire Ross, Research Assistant at UCL’s Department of Information Studies and Centre for Digital Humanities (amongst other things, Claire is the lead researcher on the award-winning QRator project).
Claire has very kindly included Transcribe Bentham in her exhibition. Four Bentham manuscripts have been installed in the exhibition: JB/027/026/004 (transcribed by Diane Folan), in which Bentham recalls setting fire to ear-wigs as a child; JB/107/110/001 and JB/107/110/002 (transcribed by Joy Lloyd, Chris Leeder, and Melissa Rogers), in which Bentham sets out a series of recipes for his panopticon prison; and JB/079/047/001 as an (admittedly extreme) example of the challenges faced by Transcribe Bentham volunteers in attempting to decipher Bentham’s manuscripts. Below the manuscripts is an interactive ‘data rail’, which shows the transcripts and some contextual information.
Needless to say, we are delighted that the work of Transcribe Bentham‘s volunteers is being showcased in such a prominent spot, and will show off both their considerable efforts and the sort of discoveries which are being made through their transcripts.
We hope that those in the London area might be able to visit, and for those further away, below are a few pictures of the TB part of the exhibit.
(Thanks again to Claire for having TB included in the exhibition, and to UCL Special Collections for their work in preparing and installing the manuscripts).
By Tim Causer, on 3 June 2013
As we have discussed in reports on Transcribe Bentham, transcripts produced by volunteers have two aims. First, they will be uploaded to UCL’s digital repository to widen access to this priceless collection; and second, the transcripts will feed into the Bentham Project’s editorial work, and form the basis of new volumes of the Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham.
We are delighted to say that the first discrete text arising from the work of Transcribe Bentham volunteers has just been pieced together by Dr Michael Quinn, Senior Research Associate at the Bentham Project, who is working on Bentham’s writings on political economy. This takes the form of a ten-page advertisement for a work detailing Bentham’s annuity notes scheme, dating from 1818. The text is derived from transcripts of JB/002/001/001 to JB/002/014/001, which you can consult on the Transcription Desk (Dr Quinn would be particularly appreciative of transcripts of material from Box 2!).
We would like to thank volunteers Diane Folan, Peter Hollis, Rex Levang, Lea Stern, and Courtney Wells for having worked on this particular batch of material. Needless to say, they – and any other transcriber who works on this material – will be fully acknowledged in the relevant volumes when they are published.
This is, of course, only the beginning of the collaboration between Transcribe Bentham volunteers and Collected Works editors, and we look forward to telling you more when further works are pieced together.
By Tim Causer, on 31 May 2013
Welcome along to the progress update for the period 25 to 31 May 2013, during which time further excellent progress has been made by Transcribe Bentham volunteers. 9,423 words of Bentham text were transcribed this week, along with another 3,182 words of TEI XML.
5,636 manuscripts have now been transcribed or partially-transcribed, which is an increase of 31 on last week’s total. Of these transcripts, 5,350 (94.9%) are of the required standard and have been locked.
The more detailed state of progress is as follows:
The most intriguing find this week was a manuscript transcribed by Keith Thompson, in which Bentham describes what he calls his ‘Phäeton-Stage’. This appears to have been a form of public transport, in which the first-class prisoners would be seated on an upper level in reclining seats in separate compartments. The carriage itself would have suspension to ensure a smooth ride, a ‘well in the Hold – to hold Wine and Provisions’, a ‘Travelling Kitchen’, and ‘Conversation-Tubes between the Front and Back-Seats’. It certainly sounds more comfortable than the MegaBus.
To celebrate (if that’s the correct term) the 181st anniversary of Bentham’s death, a pop-up exhibition will take place next to his auto-icon, in the South Cloisters at UCL between 10 and 4. Visitors will be able to respond to a series of questions about the auto-icon, and talk to staff from UCL Museums and the Bentham Project. Do pop along if you are around!
We are also delighted to say that from next Wednesday (5 June), Transcribe Bentham will be part of the wider ‘Digital Transformations’ exhibition in UCL’s Octagon Gallery. Several Bentham manuscripts will be on display, along with the volunteer-produced transcripts, and we hope this will serve to promote both Transcribe Bentham and the work of volunteers. We will be able to provide pictures of the exhibition next week, so keep an eye on the bog.
As always, many thanks to everyone who has given their time to Transcribe Bentham during the last seven days. It remains greatly appreciated by us all.
