Edwardian Book Inscriptions, 1901-1914

Edwardian book inscriptions can be described as any mark of ownership on the front endpapers of a book published between 1901 and 1914.
This dataset contains 3,155 images of Edwardian book inscriptions (1901-1914) collected from Bookbarn International, Oxfam Online Shop and Cardiff University Special Collections and Archives. It also contains 236 booksellers' labels.
Images are coded with a number and the name of the book in which they were originally found.
Types of inscription include: ownership inscriptions, author inscriptions, association copies, gift inscriptions, prize inscriptions, prize stickers, bookplates, miscellaneous.
The dataset also contains an Access database with detailed metadata for each of the 3,155 collected inscriptions. The metadata includes: ID, book category, book title, author, year of publication, publishing house, binding type, additional features, bookseller label, type of book inscription, inscription description, additional information, owner name, source, validity.<p>Book inscriptions are ownership marks that can be found on the front endpapers or flyleaves of a book. Historically, only the inscriptions of prominent or wealthy figures have been given attention, while the inscriptions of 'ordinary people' have been disregarded as insignificant examples of vernacular writing. My doctoral research challenged this perception by contributing new knowledge on the ways in which inscriptions were used by all class groups in Edwardian Britain (1901-1914), drawing particular attention to voices that remain largely silent in archival records, such as the working classes, women and children.
Specifically, my PhD sought to understand how book inscriptions contribute to our understanding of class conflict in Edwardian Britain combining social theory, archival research and multimodal discourse analysis to explore the meanings of image, colour, typography and texture choices in inscriptions, on the one hand, and the communicative and performative aspects of such vernacular literacy practices, on the other.
I discovered that Edwardians of all classes realised the potential of the spaces in books to objectify their economic means and cultural necessities, and assert themselves in a social space, whether to uphold their rank or keep their distance from other groups. For the working classes, inscriptions offered an opportunity to demonstrate their recent intellectual emancipation by recording political messages and/or defacing books awarded as prizes. The middle classes, on the other hand, generally used inscriptions as symbolic gestures of social mobility to gain social capital and respect from peers. In contrast, the upper classes, who feared the collapse of hierarchical society, saw inscriptions as ways to advertise their wealth and high social status.
I concluded that the inscriptions of all class groups have a high cultural value, as they act as important primary resources for understanding self-presentation, social conflict and class tension in early twentieth-century Britain. When combined with archival evidence, they unravel personal narratives that offer new accounts of history that stand in contrast to official narratives of national institutions of power.
In applying for this fellowship, I aim to publish, share and expand upon my findings, as well as develop academic and professional networks.
First, the fellowship will give me the time, space and resources to establish a strong publication record. It will enable me to publish papers in two peer-reviewed journals - Visual Communication and Journal of Historical Pragmatics - and start preparing chapters for a monograph for the Routledge Research in Literacy series.
Second, the fellowship will allow me to disseminate my research to relevant academic and professional audiences, as well as the general public, through conference presentations and impact/engagement activities. The conferences will be in the main fields of my research (literacy studies, material/visual culture, social history), while activities will be focused on organising an exhibition and workshops within the university and at Glamorgan Archives.
Third, the fellowship will support engagement with academic and professional networks within and beyond Cardiff University. Within Cardiff University, I will join the interdisciplinary visual culture research group ImageWorks, seek advice on digital archiving and big data from research software engineers in the Data Innovation Research Institute and develop my relationship with Special Collections. Outside of the university, I will share my research with Glamorgan Archives and the Edwardian Culture Network.
Finally, the fellowship will enable me to produce an information leaflet for archives, museums and libraries that summarises the practical applications of my research. I will also examine opportunities to work with these stakeholders to increase the presence of vernacular writing/underrepresented groups in collections.</p>

爱德华时代书籍题字（Edwardian book inscriptions）可定义为1901年至1914年间出版的书籍前环衬页（front endpapers）上的任何所有权标识。
本数据集包含3155张爱德华时代（1901-1914）书籍题字的图像，采集自巴恩国际书店（Bookbarn International）、乐施会在线商店（Oxfam Online Shop）以及卡迪夫大学特藏与档案馆（Cardiff University Special Collections and Archives），同时还包含236张书商标签图像。
每张图像均配有编号及原藏书籍的名称作为编码标识。
题字类型包括：所有权题字、作者题字、关联副本、赠礼题字、奖品题字、奖品贴纸、藏书票及其他杂项。
本数据集还包含一个Access数据库（Access），收录了3155条题字的详细元数据，元数据字段包括：编号、书籍类别、书名、作者、出版年份、出版社、装帧类型、附加特征、书商标签、书籍题字类型、题字描述、附加信息、收藏者姓名、来源及有效性。
书籍题字指附于书籍前环衬或衬页（flyleaves）的所有权标识。长期以来，学界仅关注知名人士或富裕阶层的题字，而将“普通民众”的题字视为无足轻重的民间书写样本予以忽视。本博士研究对此固有认知提出挑战：通过探究1901-1914年爱德华时代英国各阶级群体使用书籍题字的方式，着重关注档案记录中几乎失声的群体，如工人阶级、女性与儿童，从而拓展了相关研究的认知边界。
具体而言，本博士研究旨在解答书籍题字如何助力我们理解爱德华时代英国的阶级冲突这一问题：研究结合社会理论、档案研究与多模态话语分析（multimodal discourse analysis），一方面探究题字在图像、色彩、排版与材质选择上的表意逻辑，另一方面分析此类民间读写实践的传播与表演属性。
研究发现，爱德华时代各阶级群体均意识到书籍空白页的传播潜力，可借此彰显自身的经济实力与文化需求，并在社会空间中确立自身身份——无论是维护自身阶层地位，还是与其他群体保持社交距离。对于工人阶级而言，题字为其提供了展示新近获得的思想解放的契机：他们会在题字中记录政治主张，或涂改作为奖品获得的书籍。中产阶级则通常将题字用作社会流动的象征性符号，以获取社会资本与同辈群体的认可。与之形成鲜明对比的是，担忧等级社会崩塌的上层阶级将题字作为彰显自身财富与高阶社会地位的手段。
本研究得出结论：各阶级群体的书籍题字均具有极高的文化价值，它们是解读20世纪初英国自我呈现、社会冲突与阶级张力的重要一手资料。当与档案证据相结合时，这些题字能够揭开个人叙事的面纱，提供与国家权力机构的官方叙事截然不同的全新历史视角。
在申请本次学术研修奖学金时，我旨在发表、分享并拓展我的研究成果，同时搭建学术与专业网络。首先，该奖学金将为我提供充足的时间、空间与资源，以建立扎实的学术发表成果。我将能够在《视觉传播》（Visual Communication）与《历史语用学杂志》（Journal of Historical Pragmatics）这两本同行评议期刊上发表论文，并着手为《劳特利奇读写研究丛书》（Routledge Research in Literacy）的专著撰写章节。
其次，该奖学金将支持我通过学术会议汇报与成果推广/公众参与活动，将研究成果传播给相关学术与专业受众，以及普通大众。会议将围绕本研究的核心领域（读写研究、物质/视觉文化、社会史）展开，而活动则将聚焦于在大学内部与格拉摩根档案馆（Glamorgan Archives）举办展览与工作坊。
第三，该奖学金将助力我拓展卡迪夫大学内外的学术与专业网络。在卡迪夫大学内部，我将加入跨学科视觉文化研究小组ImageWorks，向数据创新研究所（Data Innovation Research Institute）的研究软件工程师咨询数字归档与大数据相关问题，并深化与特藏部门的合作。在校外，我将与格拉摩根档案馆与爱德华时代文化网络（Edwardian Culture Network）分享我的研究成果。
最后，该奖学金将支持我为档案馆、博物馆与图书馆制作信息手册，总结本研究的实际应用价值。我还将探索与这些利益相关方合作的契机，以提升民间书写/代表性不足群体的相关藏品在馆藏中的占比。