Transkribus: rewriting history
Join our crowdsourcing initiative
We’re working on a crowdsourcing project to transcribe manuscripts from the Archive using a platform called Transkribus. Find out how you can get involved.
The initial trial will focus on a copy letter book of J J W Deuchar’s outgoing mail, dating from 1903–1909. If you’d like to know more, see below or contact archive@aviva.com.
John James Walker Deuchar (1851–1911) was general manager and actuary of the Norwich Union Life Insurance Society. He is credited with lifting the company out of mediocrity to become Britain’s second largest life insurer by 1901.
Something of this energy is reflected in the letters, which are (at times) an amusing insight into his character and the workings of the company. For example, in a letter to George Skipper (architect of the Society’s new headquarters) he writes:
“I have been thinking some more about the building over the way […] every hour now is valuable, and only by the most strenuous and continuous effort can we make up some of our lost time, and avoid the unspeakable mortification and serious embarrassment of being unable to take possession early in autumn.”
Liberal underscoring and a gratuitous use of exclamation marks typify his writing style. This extract is perhaps a tamer example.
Bearing in mind that the above was written in May 1903, and the building was not ready to be occupied for a further 18 months, one can only guess at the levels of mortification felt by all!
I have chosen this volume of letters because, by their nature, they are extremely fragile and (in places) faint and fading. It’s not inconceivable that, if nothing is done, they will be lost in the near future.
This project will help us to preserve the letter book by creating a high quality digital facsimile and by unlocking its content.
How can I get involved?
The video below gives a brief introduction to Transkribus and what we’d like volunteers to do.
Interested? Email archive@aviva.com and we will send you full instructions on how to get started.
For more information about the Aviva Group Archive, see our website: https://www.aviva.com/about-us/our-heritage/.
