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Finding Aid for the Collection of Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States, 1798-1899
605
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Title: Collection of Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States
Date (inclusive): 1798-1899
Collection number: 605
Extent:
10 boxes (5 lf.)
1 flat box
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.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary 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.
This collection was originally processed at the series level. Beginning in 2005, this collection was re-processed using the
country of publication as the series level. English and Irish ballads were then itemized; American ballads were described
primarily at the folder level.
This collection was processed in the Center for Primary Research and Training from 2005 to 2007 by Andrea Jones, Helen McManus,
Melissa Sodeman, with assistance from Laurel McPhee.
[Identification of item], Collection of Broadside Ballads from England, Ireland, and the United States (Collection Number
605). Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
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).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Ballads, English --Great Britain --19th century.
Ballads, English --United States --19th century.
Broadside poems.
Other Index Terms Related to this Collection
Catnach Press.