This collection consists largely of late 18th century to early 20th century English broadside ballads donated by Dr. Robert Thomson. They are printed as regular broadsides, song sheets, song slips, or yard-a-penny songs, but also included are a some chapbooks and a set of gallows poems. The songs are mostly secular in nature, often political songs, bawdy songs, drinking songs, marching songs, patriotic songs, commemorative songs, or songs to tell the story of a news event such as a fire, train wreck or public execution, but some sacred songs are included with the names of the well-known song the lyrics should be sung to listed. Many have woodcut illustrations and still have the adhesive on the back which was once used to adhere them to the wall, sometimes with bits of the wall still attached! The first set of 158 rarely have dates, but bear the imprints of several well known publishers, including Brereton of Dublin, Catmock, Pitt, Evans, and Marshall of Newcastle. Most are on "white" paper, but numbers 108-130 are on green paper and printed front and back. There are an additional 94 reprints printed on a variety of highly colorful papers, mostly undated, but some dated from 1967 to 1973. These reprints mostly bear the imprints of The Broadsheet King (John Foreman), London; Rug Broadsides, London; and Barrie N. Roberts, the Last of the Gentleman Patterers.
