A set of twelve popular broadsheet ballads.

Nine sheets have the imprint: London, H. Such; one says London, printed at the 'Catnach Press' by W.S. Fortey and two without imprint. All sheets printed on very fragile and thin paper of different colours. (some fraying). Size c. 19 x 25 cm. Printed on the recto only. Many with woodcut illustrations. They mostly contain two or three songs in two columns, many with a decorative border down the middle. Many contain a series number.

Broadside ballads provided lyrics to popular songs, and were sold cheaply on individual sheets of paper. Decorated with crude woodcuts and often plagued by careless typesetting they were cheap products sold for a penny or even halfpenny a sheet. While the lyrics were often new, the tunes would have been familiar to all. As a widely circulating form of popular literature, ballads can be a useful resource for the study of the history of literacy and can also be of interest to those studying the history of printing. Ballads traditionally addressed themes from everyday experience in both urban and rural communities. They thus provide important source material for social history and the history of popular culture. Many of the ballads deal with common issues in family life, including courtship and marriage, domestic disputes, and the departure and return of young sailors. And there were drinking songs, love songs, and patriotic songs. Broadside ballad sheets were cheap enough to be purchased by the poor, but sufficiently varied in subject and genre to act as an instrument of mass culture.

The collection contains:

1- Caroline and her jng sailor bold !. Take back those gems you gave me. Young sailor bold. (R. Such, Printer, 177 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on pink paper with a woodcut of a sailor. Nr. 243.

2 - Music of the mill. Woful marriage. When Johnny comes marching home. Music of the mill. . (R. Such, Printer, Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on orange paper. Nr. 515.

3 - Charming, Judy Callaghan. The spell is broken we must part. Ye banks and braes o' Bonny Doon. (R. Such, Printer, 177 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on light brown paper. Nr. 247.

4 - Erin Go Bragh. Tom Bowling. (R. Such, Printer, 177 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on light brown paper with two woodcuts. Nr. 148.

5 - Addy Haggerty. Leather breeches! Pat's leather breeches. Bridal ring! Pat's leather breeches. Effects of love! R. Such, Printer, 123 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on purple paper with a woodcut. Nr. 265.

6 - The Shannon side. Erin's blooming Jane. R. Such, Printer, 177 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on orange paper with two woodcuts. Nr. 77. (tear c. 7 cm in the lower margin).

7 - My ain fireside! Phoebe Morel; or the slave's dream. R. Such, Printer, 177 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on light brown paper with two woodcuts. No number. (tear c. 5 cm in the right hand margin).

8 - I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls. You would not leave your Norah. The good-bye at te door. Marble Halls. R. Such, Printer, 177 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on light brown paper with a woodcut. Nr. 252. (lower right hand corner partly torn off but still attached).

9 - The barrel of Port. Poor married man. R. Such, Printer, 123 Union-Street, between 1863 and 1885). Printed on light brown paper with a woodcut. No number.

10 - The anchor's weighed. Poor little Joe. London, printed at the 'Catnach' press by W.S. Fortey, 4 Great St. Andrew Street… Printed on light brown paper with two woodcuts.

11 - Far away. The moral family. No place, no printer, no date. Printed on orange paper with two woodcuts.

12 - A single life for me. As I wandered by the brookside. No place, no printer, no date. Printed on light brown paper with two woodcuts.