Sunday, June 24, 2007

The Word on the Street

A great collection of street literature that contains nearly 1,800 Scottlish "Broadsides" covering the period 1650-1910. Broadsides were the "tabloids of their day. Sometimes pinned up on walls in houses and ale-houses, these single sheets carried public notices, news, speeches and songs that could be read (or sung) aloud."

The subjects include crime, politics, romance, emigration, humour, tragedy, royalty and superstitions and each broadside comes with a detailed commentary and most also have a full transcription of the text, plus a downloadable PDF facsimile. You can search by keyword, browse by title or browse by subject.
From the National Library of Scotland:
www.nls.uk/broadsides/index.html