Broadside Day 2016

Chetham's Library, Manchester

20th February 2016

We were particularly pleased that in 2016 we were invited to hold our meeting at Chetham's Library in Manchester. After London, the Manchester region was one of the most important centres for the production of street literature in the 19th century, and there are several significant collections of cheap printed materials in the city's libraries. In recognition of this, we encouraged speakers who could present on topics specifically related to the trade in the Northwest.

The following papers were presented:

• John Harkness : reflecting the Northwest and making a living out of it / Gregg Butler
• Manchester's broadside ballad collections : what they hold and what they mean in today's world / Jennifer Reid
• Contemporary accounts of nineteenth century broadside ballads and balladry / Isabel Corfe
• Melodrama and Song in the Early Nineteenth Century / Kate Newey
• "Oh! Cruel" : The singer in the ballad / Oskar Cox Jensen
• Welsh ballads and American minstrelsy / E. Wyn James
• The Baffled Knight: The print tradition of a well-known Child ballad / Steve Gardham
• Reading Robin Hood : The form and function of garlands in the 18th century / Stephen Basdeo