Finished! Looks like this project is out of data at the moment!
FAQ
Why does this project require that I transcribe an entire page at a time? What about the line-by-line or word-by-word transcription used in annoTATE or Shakespeare’s World?
Our consensus algorithm works best with fully transcribed pages. At this time, there isn’t an effective method for reconciling partially transcribed pages that honors the time and effort of our contributors. The projects that are offering line-by-line are using a custom web interface.
Why not just use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to transcribe these letters?
At the moment, none of the OCR technologies available to us produce useful results from handwritten materials. The small number of typewritten documents in the archive also present difficulties for OCR because of their quality and the presence of handwritten annotations. Plus, the computers don’t seem to find the content as interesting our contributors do!
Do I need to take special care to correct misspellings?
Yes please! The purpose of this project is to aid researchers in search and discovery for this resource so if you notice a misspelling, by all means, go ahead and correct it.
Why can’t you provide a direct link to the document or letter I’m transcribing on the Getty Research Institute’s website?
This is the tricky thing about archives. The Getty Research Institute holds a lot of archival material and it is difficult (and in some cases, not particularly helpful) to create details about, and provide access to, individual items like letters or documents. The result is that there is currently no way to link to a specific letter from the collection.
Why isn’t there anything to classify?
We’re transcribers in a classifier’s world. The majority of projects on Zooniverse do involve some kind of classification, and that is reflected in the language used in the platform. That is why we have a section of our project labeled “Classify” but the only task there is transcription.
Why aren’t we tagging drawings, poems, or other unique items?
We are right now focused on transcribing the letters, so you don’t need to bother with identifying drawings. In many cases, our catalogers have already identified if a document is a letter, envelope or drawing. We are considering adding a task for identifying all drawings to the project after transcriptions are finished so stay tuned!
We’ve also created sections in the “Collections” page where you can add drawings and poems as you find them to share with other transcribers.
What will you do with the transcribed documents?
We are collecting your transcriptions to create a data resource for art historians. Once transcribed, the letters can be searched with keywords and will be suitable for use in computational research methods. Our use of your contributed transcriptions is governed by the Zooniverse User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
Where can I find more information about Lawrence Alloway and Sylvia Sleigh?
Check out our Education page!
Where can I see some of Sylvia Sleigh’s paintings?
Check the Brooklyn Art Museum and sylviasleigh.com.
Who owns the copyright in these images?
The J. Paul Getty Trust owns the copyright to the Lawrence Alloway and Sylvia Sleigh papers.
Can I download these images?
The Getty Research Institute digitized a selection of letters from each archive. These images can be downloaded for study purposes from the Getty Research Institute's website.
Do you have any pictures of Alloway and Sleigh together?
We have some digitized at the Getty Research Institute (you can find them here).