One girl in a blue short cloak and
a torn gown stood in the center of the Square, singing. A ballad seller—the printer sent her out with
broadsides of song lyrics, and she advertised them by singing the songs...The ballad seller’s
voice rose and swelled. She had a
beautiful, clear tone, and the sad melody she sang floated and dipped like the
undulations of a river. A dead soldier,
his lover in search of him, vows never to rest or love again—the ballads from
the print shops were full of such sentimental drivel. Torn
Among all the eighteenth-century peddlers working the city streets, broadsheet sellers were among the poorest. Some saw selling broadsheets, including those printed with ballad lyrics, as basically one step up from begging; artwork depicts these salespeople as impoverished, wearing ragged clothing. At the same time, they provided a vital service in terms of disseminating popular culture at a time when your new material came in print--not records, films, radio, or the we…
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