Broadside ballad entitled 'Gentle Annie'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'You will come no more gentle Annie, / Like a flower thy spirit did depart'. This sheet was published by James Lindsay of 9 King Street, Glasgow (1852-59). There is a woodcut illustration of a well-dressed, country girl balancing two baskets included at the top.

Gentle Annie was written by Stephen Foster (1826-64), in 1856, and was inspired by his grandmother, Annie Pratt McGinnis Hart. This is now considered to be one of Foster's six finest songs. Born in Lawerenceville, Pennsylvania, his politically and financially successful large family objected to his interest in music. Once his fame had spread, however, and the money began rolling in, his family were won over!

Broadsides are often crudely illustrated with woodcuts - the earliest form of printed illustration, first used in the mid-fifteenth century. Inclusion of an illustration on a broadside increased its perceived value, especially among the illiterate. To keep costs down, publishers would normally reuse their limited stock of generic woodcuts.

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