Broadside ballad entitled 'Dumbarton's Bonny Dell'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'There's ne'er a nook in a' the land, / Victoria rules sae weel.' Above the title a woodcut illustration of an ivy-covered, brick folly, containing a wooden bench, has been included. This sheet was published by James Lindsay of King Street, Glasgow.

James Lindsay was a prolific broadside producer and many of his sheets are contained in the National Library of Scotland's collection. Most of them carry a woodcut illustration, although they vary greatly in quality and sophistication. Often on his sheets, short lyrics or flimsy content were compensated for by an elaborate illustration. Lindsay was probably aware that these pictures increased the perceived value.

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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