I chose two sources from the Special Collections of the UCL archives to focus my research on. The first source is a ‘Caricature of Augustus De Morgan’, which was found in the Innovators and Educators exhibition. The second source is a ‘Sketch of Professor De Morgan’, and is from the same exhibition. The date of both sources is unknown.
I chose to focus on these sources because of the stark contrast in their objectives and geographies in representing Professor De Morgan. The first source appears to depict De Morgan as a strong figure, dominating the canvas. Conversely, the second source depicts him as comical and undermines his power. Images can be powerful and political, representing the same thing in many different ways depending on the purpose and context. This is particularly so with drawings.
The Professor was an excellent mathematician who worked at University Collage London for over 30 years. Educated at Cambridge University he received Fourth Wrangler in 1827 where he then became Professor of Mathematics at the London University, now UCL, when he was only 21 (Reid and Lawes, 2010). After three years De Morgan resigned due to a dispute with Horner, the Warden, over the dismissal of Granville Pattison, the Anatomy teacher. Thus demonstrating his strong conscience. He then returned to teach following the death of his successor. Thirty-one years later he resigned again when the University refused to hire James Matineau as the chair for Philosophy of Mind and Logic due to his religious standing. So strong were his feelings towards this matter that he would not allow a bust or portrait to be placed anywhere in the Collage. He was a key member of the Astronomical Society and was appointed president of the London Mathematics Society.
As a teacher he was ‘an outstanding figure in the first generation of Professors at the Collage’ (Harte and North, 1991: 56) and his students found him ‘inescapably fascinating’. He taught many influential figures such as Ambrose Fleming and Sir Henry Roscoe, a chemist, who described him as ‘one of the profoundest and subtlest thinkers of the nineteenth century’ (Harte and North, 1991: 56). De Morgan was known for his great wit and enjoyed creating puns, jokes and caricatures. It is clear from this information that he was well respected amongst his faculty members and by the student body.
Although there is much information on the Professor, it seems there is very little on the sources themselves. I can only draw from the information given about his character and from the descriptions produced by the Special Collections. These tell me that a student drew the first source and there is a short description of who De Morgan was. They explain that De Morgan himself sketched the second source and again give a small description, highlighting his wit with this caricature. Bearing this information in mind, and after several trips to the archive the geographies of each source can be assessed.
'Caricature of Augustus De Morgan', Date Unknown, Artist Unknown Student. Innovators and Educators Exhibition, UCL Special Collections.
The context and geography of Source One is unclear to me based on the lack of information given. I believe that the caricature was displayed, perhaps in literature or on a wall to show that he was an influential figure. It implies that he is a serious man that commands respect and would have been dominant in his position among academics and at the Collage. These images are often shown when the praising someone or the work they have done. The interpretation of this source was strengthened as the two dominant factors are De Morgan and the desk, upon which lays his work and is the place. The local context would have shaped the image for this intention as it was done by a student and because of De Morgan’s standing in the Collage. Unfortunately I am unable to follow the trajectory of this source due to a lack of knowledge. The represented geography show De Morgan in what was most probably his lecture theatre, or possibly his study at UCL. The space is very personal to him as it is where he would have worked, therefore highlighting his academic ability.
'Sketch of Professor De Morgan in the Pillory', Date Unknown, Augustus De Morgan. Innovators and Educators Exhibition. UCL Special Collections
The second source shows a younger Professor because in Source One he has gone bald and has the figure of an older man, hinting that it was done towards the end of his term. Source Two is a satirical self-portrait that depicts De Morgan as weak figure and makes him look idiotic as he has a big head and grin. It undermines his authority as an academic. However, he was a known for his humor and cartoons, which is encompassed in this image. It is likely that this image was shown to others because it is a joke. It would have most likely been shown to his pears which would affected it as he would try to draw it in a way that would be most humorous. As a result the sketch would probably have been received well. It was done on a larger piece of paper or page of a book or notepad as the topside of the paper is frayed. This potential means is was left amongst other documents and then found at a later date when someone sorted through them.
When reading this, one must bear in mind that the conclusions drawn are merely speculative and are the best interpretations I could make do to the lack of information. Others may formulate different theories as to the geography of each piece. When doing this, however, it is important to think about the context of each piece. If this is not done, worse interpretations may be made. When starting the research into each piece my initial ideas were very wrong. This is because I intentionally did not read about each piece. This shows that there are many different ways to view images depending on both the context of the image and the viewer.
Reference List
Harte, N., North, J. (1991) The World at UCL: 1828 – 2004. Taylor & Francis Ltd: Oxford.
Reid, M., Lawes, L. (2010) Innovators and Educators: UCL and Bloomsbury in the 19th Century. UCL Library Services: London.
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