Broadside ballad entitled 'Half-Past Ten'

Commentary

Verse 1 begins: 'I mind when I courted my ain wifie Jean / Tho' often I gaed, she seldom was seen'. It was published by Robert MacIntosh of 203 Gallowgate, Glasgow. There is no date attached.

This rather amusing tale would no doubt have had its audiences laughing by its conclusions. Jean and the narrator first meet in a pub, which they are informed will shut at 10:30. Rather than miss out on the opportunity to spend together, Jean stops the clock in the pub and nobody realises until the cocks crow! Unusually for broadside literature this tale has a happy end. The couple marry and are happy with their choice!

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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