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Broadsheet with four ballads 'The Slave Chase', 'The Brave Old Oak', 'Kathleen Mavourneen' and 'The Star of Glengary'.
Broadsheet with four ballads 'The Slave Chase', 'The Brave Old Oak', 'Kathleen Mavourneen' and 'The Star of Glengary'.

Broadsheet with four ballads 'The Slave Chase', 'The Brave Old Oak', 'Kathleen Mavourneen' and 'The Star of Glengary'.

Printer (1834 - 1886)
Date1855 - 1860
Object number00017437
NameBroadsheet
MediumWoodcut and printed text on paper.
DimensionsOverall: 252 x 190 mm, 0.023 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionBroadsheet with four ballads 'The Slave Chase', 'The Brave Old Oak', 'Kathleen Mavourneen' and 'The Star of Glengary'. The 'Slave Chase' were based on lyrics by Angus B.Reach and set to music by Henry Russell in around 1845. The ballad refers to Royal Navy's attempts to stop the slave trade. After the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 the Royal Navy formed the West Africa Squadron to intercept slave traders, seize their ships and free their slaves. The Squadron was based in Freetown, Sierra Leone, from 1819. 'The Brave Old Oak' was written by Henry Fothergill Chorley and published in 1837. Chorley was aHistoryBroadsheet rhymes and verses were the cheapest prints available during the 18th and 19th century. They were sold by street sellers known as Flying Stationers, who charged a minimal fee of a penny or half-penny. They featured popular songs that were often sung in homes, inns and taverns and covered a range of themes relating to contemporary events or stories. Printed alongside the songs were woodcut illustrations. Most of the broadsheet publishers did not date or mark their works, making it difficult to pinpoint when they were produced. The publication of ballads was part of the commemoration and production of material about shipwrecks. Ships were part of the everyday life in the 19th century and stories about their voyages, wrecks, record breaking voyages and commissions often featured in newspapers and commemorative souvenirsSignificanceBroadsheets were designed as printed ephemera to be published and distributed rapidly. This also meant they were quickly disposed of with many of them not surviving the test of time. The museum's broadsheet collection is therefore a rare and valuable example of how maritime history was communicated to a wide audience, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. They vibrantly illustrate many of the themes and myths surrounding life at sea. Some of them also detail stories about transportation, migration.