Here’s the link to our project!
[Emily DeFranco, Alexandra Dudas, Christine Wohltjen]
https://supernaturallocations.wordpress.com/
-It’s been fun!
Shelock Holmes
DeFranco_Mapping Holmes Assignment
I chose to focus on Leadenhall Street from the Sherlock Holmes story, A Case of Identity for this mapping/research assignment. This image is screen-shotted from the Victorian Google Maps website. Leadenhall Street is the thick, long street running horizontal through the image.
On the Old Bailey Archive I did a search of Leadenhall Street in the 1800s and found man phrases that much of what came up seemed business related, as if Leadenhall was a bustling, though not incredibly wealthy, business district with many places of employment and local businesses. Here are some examples of what I found that lead me to make this conclusion:
-“…I am a clerk at the post office, 114, Leadenhall Street…”
-“…Holder Brothers, Ship brokers, 146, Leadenhall Street…”
-“…he was an advertising agent in Leadenhall Street…”
-“…I am a printer, of 18, Leadenhall Market…”
-“…I am a tea importer, of 158, Leadenhall Street…” etc.
On the Charles Booth Online Archive I searched for the Street and came up with the following 1898-99 map.
According to the legend, the coloring of the map showing the surrounding areas of Leadenhall Street indicate that this was not a wealthy area. It seems that most of this area (the light blue range) is poor and some (the dark blue) indicates very poor areas. I can’t really tell if there are actually dark blue areas or if it’s just light blues layered on top of each other making certain spots look darker. Anyway, from this information and what I previously discovered about the many businesses along Leadenhall Street, it seems that it was a very working class area where people just barely managed to scrape buy and support their families and provide the necessities. Maybe there aren’t quite and “very poor” dark blue areas because there are lots of small local jobs in the area so people are not in the range of “chronic want.”
On the Locating London website, I did a search of Leadenhall Street to discover what typed of crime were reported in this area in the early 1800s. What I found were that all of the offenses were related to theft: pickpocketing, grand larceny, coining offenses, theft from a specified place, shoplifting, highway robbery, etc. I supposed this makes sense if the area was full of businesses and people just barely making it by. I’m not associating the poor with the crime, but these people were, in some way, wanting (indicated by the map showing wealth), and this could lead to theft.
Historical Interrelation: Words and War
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned all the Sherlock Holmes stories between 1891 and 1927, creating a literary legend that would not soon be forgotten. By using topic modeling techniques and some fancy algorithms, we can investigate the potential relevance of word usage in his stories.
The Great War was a momentous event that almost exactly bisected Doyles’ creations, so I will view my ten topics through this lens. I found an interesting website for historical background on London during this time period, which helped me to identify significant events.
Estate vs Business
In contrasting estate and business, I noticed a spike in the former before 1905 and again before 1910. This could have been because British colonies had large tea estates in India. However, estate crashed back down after 1910 and business led throughout the rest of the time period. It is possible that the industrial growth of London led to this change, and both words are lower during the war and flu pandemic of 1918.
Search vs Case
Regarding search and case, there is a slight rise in each during the war years. Once again, the flu of 1918 and the peak of both words during the 1910-1920 decade may involve correlation rather than causation. The term search may also have increased during the war because soldiers could be missing in action.
Crime vs Reasoning
Reasoning was mentioned more than crime prior to 1915, but the use of crime skyrocketed after this, calming back down in the 1920’s. This fits well with the suffrage movement and trade unions growing, as this disrupted established society. From the 20th century London website:
The suffragettes, the Irish ‘Home Rule’ movement and trade unions all agitated for change, sometimes with violence. In 1918 some political demands were met through the Representation of the People Act, which gave the vote to working men and women over 30.
Appearance vs Expression
Appearance quite possibly became less important than expression after the war, due to the realities it forced upon the people of London. This trend continued through the 20’s, as the growth of jazz may have led to expression becoming more common.
Silent Reflection vs Public
Silent reflection had an interesting spike in 1908, and it dropped precipitously, becoming equal to public by 1914. It is possible that the Alien Act impacted this word usage, as many immigrants tried to come to London during this period. Perhaps many Londoners had thoughts about the impact on their society, but the war decreased their time for such thoughts.
While I am not certain about these linguistic developments, I feel topic modeling could be an important tool to help scholars revisit the past, specifically helpful in distinguishing how history affects word usage.
Maps!
Hello fellow classmates, I’m Brian. I’m a junior/senior (its close), and I love maps, my atlas and globe, as well as just about anything else that conveys geographical information. I look forward to combining my appreciation for maps with Holmes and Watson’s criminal cases throughout Victorian London. I also hope to incorporate my love of music into the digital humanities course in some way. Overall, I am intrigued by this interesting course, and I look forward to all that we will cover.