Broadside entitled 'Shocking and Disgraceful Murder'

Commentary

This crime report begins: 'Full, true and particular Account of the horrid and cruel murder of James Gough of the Royal Artillery, who was barbarously stoned to death by three men, on Sunday night: Together with the apprehension of the Murderers.' This report was sourced from 'this Day's Observer, Aug 14', and printed by Forbes and Co. of the Cowgate, Edinburgh, most likely between 1832 and 1833.

As the report reveals, the victim of this heinous crime, James Gough, was not actually involved in the altercation which ultimately led to his murder near Ballintyne. The story has been lifted from one of the newspapers of the day, the 'Observer'. This was common practice amongst broadside publishers. With no copyright laws in place, they were at liberty to reproduce reports published elsewhere.

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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