Description
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.
Background
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.
Extent
5.0 linear feet
(10 boxes and 1 flat box)
Restrictions
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.
Availability
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.