Broadside entitled 'A list of all the Prisoners who are to stand their Trials before the High Court of Justiciary next Week'

Commentary

This list begins: 'Just published, a correct list of the 64 Prisoners who are to stand their trials before the High Court of Justiciary during the course of next week ; giving the names and different crimes for which they are charged, and the particular day on which they are to be tried ; taken from the best authority. Printed by Forbes & Co., Edinburgh.

This broadside is a straightforward list containing the names of the prisoners, plus the crimes they are accused of, who are due to appear in trials at the High Court. Glancing down this list and timetable, there is certainly a wide selection of crimes, ranging from homicide to fugitation - which means to abscond from justice.Theft is the offence that appears most frequently. Broadsides dealing with crime were extremely popular with the general public, and always sold numerous copies.

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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