Broadsheet ballad titled 'Shipwreck'd Tar'.
Printer
John Pitts
(1765-1844)
Date1802 - 1844
Object number00017391
NameBroadsheet
MediumPaper, card, ink
DimensionsOverall: 252 x 105 mm, 0.023 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis ballad 'Shipwreck'd Tar'. It details the experience of a shipwrecked tar or sailor through a lighthearted verse. It features a wood-cut print depicting a vessel departing a dock. Many broadsheets were published in London to be sold by street hawkers. They became a popular form of entertainment in Britain.HistorySHIPWRECK'D TAR.
ESCAP'D With life tatters,
Behold me safe on shore
Such trifles littlle matters,
I'll soon get togs galore,
For Poll swore when we parted,
No chance her faith should jar;
And Poll's too tender hearted,
To slight a shipwrecked tar.
To Poll his course straight steering,
He hastens on apace,
Poor Jack can't get a hearing,
She never saw his face;
From Peg, Doll and Kitty,
Relief is just as far,
Not one has the least pity,
For a poor shipwrecked tar.
This whom he thought love's needle,
Now his misery mocks,
That wants to call the beadle,
To set him in the stocks;
Cry'd Jack this is hard dealing,
The element of war;
Then this had kinerd feeling.
They sav''d a shipwreck'd tar.
But all their taunts and fetches.
A judgment are to me,
I fear those harden'd wretches,
Dear Nancy slighted thee:
But see poor Tray assails me,
His mistress is not far,
He wags his tail and hails me,
Tho' a poor shipwrecked tar.
'Twas faithful love that brought him,
Oh! lesson for mankind,
'Tis one cry'd and taught him,
For on my constant mind,
Thy image dear was graven,
And now remov'd each bar,
My arms shall be the haven.
For my poor shipwreck'd tar.
Heaven and my love reward thee,
I'm shipwreck'd but I'm rich,
All shall with love regard thee,
Thy love shall so bewitch,
With wonder each fond fancy,
That children far and near,
Shall lisp the name of Nancy,
That sav'd the shipwreck'd tar.
Broadsheet 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.
SignificanceThis broadsheet represents the popular interest in sailors and shipwrecks during the 18th and 19th century in Britain.
