Broadside regarding the execution of Andrew Fullarton

Commentary

This account begins: 'An Account of the Execution of ANDREW FULLARTON, who suffered at Edinburgh, on Wednesday the 16th August, 1826, for Highway Robbery, between Edinburgh and Dalkeith, on the 18th April last, with his last Dying Confession, and Behaviour on the Scaffold.'

Whilst Fullarton was found guilty and sentenced to be executed for the robbery and assault of James Hunter, the case against one of his accomplices, a Mr Renton, was not proven. A third man known by the name of Reid, who made his escape after the incident, was later arrested and placed in jail. The broadside ends on a strong moral note, with Fullarton denouncing the evils of drink and urging young people to observe the Sabbath and keep 'good company'.

Reports recounting dark and salacious deeds were popular with the public, and, like today's sensationalist tabloids, sold in large numbers. Crimes could generate sequences of sheets covering descriptive accounts, court proceedings, last words, lamentations and executions as they occurred. As competition was fierce, immediacy was paramount, and these occasions provided an opportunity for printers and patterers to maximise sales.

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