In August of 2026, PhD candidate Peter Smyth traveled to London and Paris to conduct research for a dissertation chapter tracing the meaning of the term “cartoon.” In London, Smyth spent two days at the British Library reading the “chairman’s edition” of the periodical Punch — a rare edition that includes material not included in the vast majority of Punch collections and archives. Also in London, Smyth visited the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Cartoon Gallery in Hampton Court — the current and former home of Raphael’s Cartoons for the Sistine Tapestries, key artworks in their “cartoon” chapter. Rounding off the trip in Paris, Smyth viewed other works by Raphael at the Louvre.

This trip was generously funded by the Cathleen M. Murnane Travel Scholarship and the Arts and Humanities Graduate Research Small Grant.