Ballads 'The Convict Maid' and 'Emmeline, the Glasgow Lass'

Printer James Paul & Co (1838 - 1845)

Date1838-1845

Object number00017358

NameBroadsheet

MediumWoodcut engraving and print on paper

DimensionsOverall: 240 x 190 mm, 0.029 kg
Display Dimensions: 240 x 193 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThe ballad 'The Convict Maid' is a cautionary tale of a servant who stole money from her employer to pay for her wedding. She is caught and sentenced to seven years transportation to Botany Bay, becoming a convict maid. 'Emmeline, the Glasgow Lass' is a romantic story of a Scottish heiress.HistoryBroadsheets or broadsides, as they were also known, were originally used to communicate official or royal decrees. They were printed on one side of paper and became a popular medium of communication between the 16th and 19th centuries in Europe, particularly Britain. They were able to be printed quickly and cheaply and were widely distributed in public spaces including churches, taverns and town squares. Their function expanded as they became used as a medium to galvanise political debate, hold public meetings and advertise products or cultural events. The cheap nature of the broadside and its wide accessibility meant that its intended audience were often literate individuals but from varying social standings. The illiterate may have also had access to this literature as many of the ballads were designed to be read aloud. In 'Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England', Peter Burke notes that the golden age of the broadside ballad, between 1600 and 1700, saw ballads produced at a penny each which was the same price for admission to the theatre. The ballads also covered a wide range of subject matter such as witchcraft, epic war battles, murder and maritime themes and events. They were suitably dramatic and often entertaining, but as James Sharpe notes, also in 'Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England', some of them were designed as elaborate cautionary tales for those contemplating a life of crime. The broadside ballads in the museum's collection were issued by a range of London printers and publishers for sale on the streets by hawkers. They convey, often comically, stories about love, death, shipwrecks, convicts and pirates. Each ballad communicates a sense that these stories were designed to be read aloud for all to enjoy, whether it was at the local tavern or a private residence. Emmeline the Glasgow Lass. It was in Glasgow city, one morning in fair spring, The sun the meadows did adorn, The cook so sweet did sing; All on a bank of violets, as I along did pass, I met with lovely Emmeline, the buxom Glasgow lass. She appeared just like a goddess, her dark blue eyes did shine; She is a squire's daughter, possessed of a gentle mind; Like a blooming rose that will not fade, all flowers does surpass, She has my heart entangled, has this young Glasgow lass. Her portion's fifty thousand each year, all in bright gold; She is the maid I do adore, as you may now behold; In wedlock I would freely join, my life with her could pass; All roving I would give over, for my lovely Glasgow lass. Each morning as the day doe break I meet this lovely maid, Where we have oft confest our love, each other did embrace; Inconstancy we will deny, while time doe sweetly pass, When I shall be united to my pretty Glasgow lass. The wedding is appointed; we will join heart and hand, The village bells shall merrily ring, all in fair Scotland. Now they are tied in Hymen's bonds, all sorrows they will pass; May he in happiness be crowned, with his bonny Glasgow lass! Enjoyment and prosperity these lovers they do see, Their children are caressing, and climbing on each knee; So all galllant lovers may your time sweetly pass, Like that of lovely Emmeline, the handsome Glasgow lass. The Convict Maid. Ye London maids attend to me While I relate my misery Through London streets I oft have strayed But now I am a Convict Maid In innocence I once did live In all the joy that peace could give But sin my youthful heart betrayed And now I am a Convict Maid To wed my lover I did try To take my master's property So all my guilt was soon displayed And I became a Convict Maid Then I was soon to prison sent To wait in fear my punishment When at the bar I stood dismayed Since doomed to be a Convict Maid At lenth the Judge did me address Which filled with pain my aching breast To Botany Bay you will be conveyed For seven years a Convict Maid For seven long years oh how I sighed While my poor mother loudly cried My lover wept and thus he said May God be with my Convict Maid To you that here my mournful tale I cannot half my grief reveal No sorrow yet has been portrayed Like that of the poor Convict Maid Far from my friends and home so dear My punishment is most severe My woe is great and I'm afraid That I shall die a Convict Maid I toil each day in greaf and pain And sleepless through the night remain My constant toils are unrepaid And wretched is the Convict Maid Oh could I but once more be free I'd never again a captive be But I would seek some honest trade And never become a Convict Maid SignificanceBroadsheets 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 and migration.