Ballads 'Transport's Return' and 'Cookey Darling'

Datec 1850

Object number00017364

NameBroadsheet

MediumWoodcut engraving and printed text on paper mounted on card.

DimensionsOverall: 256 x 189 mm, 0.015 kg

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionIn the 'Transport's Return' its hero recounts the cruel tribulations of transporation, but he has been pardoned by the Queen and is on his way home to his aged mother to whom he caused so much heartbreak. 'Cookey Darling' is a comical ballad about a sordid policeman pursuing a woman.HistoryCookey Darling. I’m waiting at the airey, Cookey, darling, Your fire burns brightly, I can see: Then hasten to your peeler, Cookey, darling, For you know, my love, I’m waiting for thee.* You know that ’twas last night you gave me Only half a leg of mutton and a goose, Then hasten to your peeler, Cookey darling, Or on Sunday I shan’t be of any use. Cookey, stunning Cookey! I’m waiting at the airey, Cookey, darling, Then bring me up somwthing good to eat, Some lush for my stomach to be warming, And the grub I’ll put away on my beat. I can see wine, too, on the table, Sent down because it was not bright, To drink it, Cookey, you know I am able, My love, you know, to put it out of sight. Cookey, stunning Cookey! I can see pies and puddings, Cookey darling, Veal, ham, and every thing so nice, I’m sure I shall go mad, Cookey darling, If off that beef I haven’t a two pound slice. But I hear the sergeant coming, Full well I know his power, Then get the grub ready, Cookey darling, And I’ll be back in half an hour. Cookey, stunning Cookey! "When the present Police force was first organized it was composed of men decidedly inferior in physique, intelligence, and education, to those constables whose protection we enjoy. They were made the butt of every kind of coarse witticism, and were generally addressed by some slang name. Above all they were chaffed for their supposed partiality for the society of Cooks." [http://www.staggernation.com/msb/cookey_darling.php] OH, MOHER DON T 1 OU CRY. Oh, well can I remember now, when but a little boy, The fond caresses I received, I was my mother's joy. As I grew up in after years, it caused me many a sigh. I broke the laws, and so I caused my mother dear to cry. Oh, my mother, don't you cry for me, For soon I may return again, my mother dear to see, Within this ancient city, how happy days did pass And in the summer evenings when sitting on the grass, The tale of love I've often told, when my dear girl was nigh. Alas! I am transported, but mother don't you cry. And never shall I once forget the sorrows of that day. When from the prison on the coach, they hastened me away, It grieved me to bid adieu to those of bygone years, It grieved me more to see my mother dear burst into tears. Oh! tell all ray companions, now I am in a foreign land, Our governor is cruel and we're chained hand in hand. When on my bed lay me down, I get but little sleep I dream of being home again, and waken but to weep. I'll send a letter to my girl the one that I adore, For who can tell that I may ever see her more? A kiss she gave unto me, on the morn that we did part, But if I had her near to me, I'd press her to my heart. One night as I had laid me down, I thought my heart would break, My sufferings were dreadful, I was afraid to speak; Then ere the morn when I arose, what joyful news to hear; The welcome sound of liberty, my aged mother dear. My heart with joy was bursting, when the news I did receive, Until I asked the governor I scarcely could believe, I found the Queen had pardoned me and now I am on the foam, For to embrace you, mother, dear, your child is coming home Oh! my mother, cheer up and don't you cry... Broadsheets 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.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.