Broadside reporting two separate cases of rape, in Paisley and Edinburgh, 1830

Commentary

This report begins: 'Account of that Cruel and Horrid Rape which was perpetrated by a Man on a Woman on the Paisley Road, on SATURDAY, and who was apprehended by a passenger on the Road . . . Also, an account of another Cruel Rape . . . on a Girl, only thirteen years of age . . . In Cumberland Street, Edinburgh'. The sheet was printed in Glasgow by William Carse.

Shocking reports such as this one were standard fare for broadside pedlars. The more sensational the story, the more popular the broadside was likely to be. This one uses highly emotive language to describe both incidents and ends by stating that 'Serious crime is now increasing to an alarming extent' and giving details of others due to be tried for similar offences. It appears that there has been a problem with the type at the bottom left of the sheet, and someone has drawn the characters on by hand.

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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