Broadside entitled 'Trial and Sentence'

Commentary

This trial report begins: 'A full and particular account of the Trial and Sentence of Robert Emond, who is to be Executed at Edinburgh, on Wednesday the 17th of March, 1830, for the Barbarous Murder of Mrs Franks and her Daughter, near Haddington, and whose body is to be delivered to the Professor of Anatomy for Dissection.'

According to this report, the level of interest in Emond's case was tremendous. This is confirmed by the number of broadsides that were issued on the Emond murders, more familiarly known as the 'Haddington Murders'. In the National Library of Scotland's collection alone there at least five further broadsides, including another detailing the trial and sentence, a letter Emond wrote to his wife, a summary of his life, history and transactions, a confession, and, finally, a report regarding his execution.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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