Broadside entitled 'The Broken Bowl'

Commentary

This poem begins: 'WHAUR Neidpath's wa's wi' pride look doon / Upon a guid auld burgh toun, / A crankie cratur' leev'd langsyne, / Amang the guid auld freen's o' mine'. The text preceding this reads: 'RECITATION / AS RECITED BY A. ROBB, LATE OF THE 42nd REGIMENT / SCOTCH RECITER AND STORY TELLER'. The body of text is contained in a decorative woodcut border.

The 42nd regiment, original the 43rd until 1749, is better known today as the 'Black Watch'. The regiment's history stretches back to 1739, although it has undergone many changes and affiliations since then, and was closely associated with the Earls of Crawford. Unfortunately A. Robb of the 42nd is now largely untraceable, although this little document is an interesting testament to his skills and a brief history of his career.

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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