Some Images

Below are some examples of broadside ballads that have been scanned, listed by their shelfmark. Click on the partial thumbnails to see the full version.

Bonnet So Blue was a popular song printed many times. Here are two versions from the Bodleian Library's Harding collection. Each is adapted for a local market.

Harding B 11(392) Printed by Angus of Newcastle for sale primarily in Yorkshire.

Harding B 11(393) Printed for W. Armstrong of Liverpool for sale primarily in Lancashire.

Ballads often reflect the conflicts of the day. Here are two ballads about the Jacobite succession and rebellion

Harding B 3(67) Printed by A. Boulter in 1715.

Harding B 6(5) Printed anonymously.

The Crimean War engendered both jingoism and outrage at the sufferings of the British soldiers

Harding B 11(650) No printer given.

Harding B 15(322) By John Morgan; printed by John Marks and G. Mason.

© Bodleian Library 1999, M. Heaney/T. Lipinski