Aims and objectives
The main aim of the project was to rescue and preserve a selection of Peruvian newspapers specialising in political and social satire, whose conservation was at risk due to the fragility of the paper and frequent handling. Through illustrations, caricatures and sharp commentaries, these newspapers offer a critical view of government, public figures, the clergy, and the peruvian customs of the from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The project not only ensures the digital preservation of this important hemerographic heritage but also enhances its accessibility for researchers, students and the general public, through its online availability on the Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) portal of the British Library.
Outcomes
A total of 44 titles of Peruvian satirical periodicals were digitised, comprising 751 issues and 6,093 images in TIFF format, amounting to approximately 200 GB of data. The corpus spans almost a century, from 1821 to 1918. These digitised newspapers are significant as they reveal the evolution of political discourse, the role of satire in shaping public opinion, and the dynamics of power within Peruvian society. They also offer rich visual content — including caricatures, illustrations, and advertisements — which provides valuable insight into the visual culture of the period.
Most of the newspapers are physically preserved in a special vault located within the Special Collections area of the Central Library. Each item is protected in custom-made, acid-free boxes and folders. A digital backup copy is stored on an external hard drive and in a secure cloud space within the shared drive of the Central Library at PUCP. The physical material can be consulted, although access is restricted due to its fragile condition. The digitised versions will be too accessible through links added to each catalogue record in the PUCP Library System, directing users to the copies available on the EAP website
The following methodology report and inventory were submitted as part of the project outputs:
Periódicos satíricos peruanos (1821–1918)
El proyecto tuvo como objetivo principal rescatar y preservar un conjunto de periódicos peruanos especializados en sátira política y social, cuya conservación se encontraba en riesgo debido a la fragilidad del papel y a la constante manipulación.
Se digitalizaron 44 títulos, que comprenden 751 números y un total de 6,093 imágenes. Estas publicaciones constituyen una fuente primaria invaluable para el estudio de la prensa política, la opinión pública y las dinámicas sociales del Perú entre los siglos XIX y comienzos del XX.
A través de ilustraciones, caricaturas y textos mordaces, los periódicos ofrecen una mirada crítica sobre el gobierno, los personajes públicos, el clero y las costumbres de la época. Asimismo, su contenido visual permite aproximarse a la evolución de la cultura gráfica y visual peruana, contribuyendo al conocimiento de los lenguajes satíricos y humorísticos como instrumentos de expresión política y social.
El proyecto no solo garantiza la preservación digital de este valioso patrimonio hemerográfico, sino que también amplía su accesibilidad para investigadores, estudiantes y público en general, mediante su disponibilidad en línea a través del portal de la Endangered Archives Programme (EAP) de la British Library.
