Broadside entitled 'Particular account of the execution'

Commentary

This report of an execution begins: 'Particular account of the Execution and behaviour of a yonng man, named David Wylie, who suffered at Glasgow, on Wednesday the 12th November, 1823, for Housebreaking and Theft, with his warning to the young to beware of numerous gangs of thieves who are at present committing crimes throughout the country, also his affectionate address on the scaffold.' Published in Glasgow, reprinted by J. Young of Edinburgh in 1823.

The quality of writing found in broadsides can vary quite considerably, but in this particular example there appear to be whole lines missing from the report. For example, in this printed version lines 39-41 read: 'At the / who counselled, instructed, and by every tie which links human / nature together, warned him of impending danger.' Clearly there are words missing beween lines 39 and 40 as they are printed here, and there are similar omissions elsewhere in the broadside. This may be down to a printer error in Glasgow, or it may have occurred when J. Young reprinted the report in Edinburgh.

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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