Broadside entitled 'Copy of a Curious Love Letter'

Commentary

Following on from the title, the report begins: 'From a young Gentleman in this neighbourhood, which was found near this place, this morning, addressed to Miss N.S-, a young lady belonging to this town, which will prove very interesting to the public in general.' Unfortunately, no publication details are included on the sheet.

Although the title of this broadside claims that the sheet contains a love letter, albeit a curious one, the letter is in fact a spiteful letter of rejection to end a love affair. As such, it appears to be a rather unusual item to print, although it is true that no publisher ever went poor through underestimating the public's insatiable appetite for reading prurient gossip. Another curious aspect of this sheet is the short verse above the letter, which provides the audience with advice regarding how they should read this love epistle. In short, this appears to be a very strange broadside, and it would be interesting to learn how the audience of the day reacted to it.

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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