Page "Ballad" Paragraph 17

Broadside ballads ( also known as ' roadsheet ’, ‘ stall ’, ‘ vulgar ’ or ‘ come all ye ’ ballads ) were a product of the development of cheap print in the 16th century.

They were generally printed on one side of a medium to large sheet of poor quality paper.

In their heyday of the first half of the 17th century, they were printed in black-letter or gothic type and included multiple, eye-catching illustrations, a popular tune tile, as well as an alluring poem.

By the 18th century, they were printed in white letter or roman type and often without much decoration ( as well as tune title ).

These later sheets could include many individual songs, which would be cut apart and sold individually as " slipsongs.

" Alternatively, they might be folded to make small cheap books or " chapbooks " which often drew on ballad stories.

They were produced in huge numbers, with over 400, 000 being sold in England annually by the 1660s.

Tessa Watt estimates the number of copies sold may have been in the millions.

Many were sold by travelling chapmen in city streets or at fairs.

The subject matter varied from what has been defined as the traditional ballad, although many traditional ballads were printed as broadsides.

Among the topics were love, religion, drinking-songs, legends, and early journalism, which included disasters, political events and signs, wonders and prodigies.