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Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States collection
LSC.0605
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Collection of Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0605
Physical Description:
5.0 linear feet
(10 boxes and 1 flat box)
Date (inclusive): 1798-1899
Abstract: Broadside ballads provided lyrics to popular songs, and were sold cheaply on individual sheets of paper. This collection contains
approximately 2,000 English, Irish, and American broadsides from the nineteenth century.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
PORTIONS OF THIS COLLECTION HAVE BEEN DIGITIZED. See the Existence and Location of Copies note for the link to the digitized
materials.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9942327303606533
[Identification of item], Collection of Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States (Collection Number
605). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Originally processed at the series level. Reprocessed by Andrea Jones, Helen McManus, and Melissa Sodeman with assistance
from Laurel McPhee in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), 2005-2007. The country of publication was used
as the series level. English and Irish ballads were then itemized; American ballads were described primarily at the folder
level.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form
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Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.
Broadside ballads provided lyrics to popular songs, and were sold cheaply on individual sheets of paper. While the lyrics
were often new, the tunes would have been familiar to all. As a widely circulating form of popular literature, ballads can
be a useful resource for the study of the history of literacy and can also be of interest to those studying the history of
printing. Ballads traditionally addressed themes from everyday experience in both urban and rural communities. They thus provide
important source material for social history and the history of popular culture.
This collection contains approximately 2,000 English, Irish, and American broadsides from the nineteenth century, including
a large number of broadsides from the Catnach Press as well as some from women printers (especially Anne Ryle and Elizabeth
Hodges, with a few by Ann Birt). Many of the ballads in this collection deal with common issues in family life, including
courtship and marriage, domestic disputes, and the departure and return of young sailors. The collection includes examples
of drinking songs, love songs, and patriotic songs. It offers many variants of traditional favorites, such as "Lannigan's
Ball" and "John Barleycorn". The collection also represents ballads as sources of information and commentary on current events
of local, national and international significance. Of the holdings in English ballads, many report on wars, economic conditions,
and the activities of the monarchy. Land tenure, the Fenians, and other protests of English rule feature prominently in the
collection's Irish ballads. A major theme of the American ballads is the Civil War (1861-1865).
Arranged in the following series:
- England, 1750-ca. 1899 (6 boxes)
- Ireland, ca. 1828-1869 (2 boxes)
- United States, ca. 1824-1887 (2 boxes).
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online:
Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States (5 items).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Broadside poems.
Ballads, English -- United States -- 19th century.
Ballads, English -- Great Britain -- 19th century.
Catnach Press