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Ephemera
Ephemera
Examples of the broadsheets and ephemera held in Blackburn Library
(C) Blackburn with Darwen Library & Information Service
(C) Blackburn with Darwen Library & Information Service
Broadsheets and Ephemeral Publications
In the very first Blackburn Local History Society "Journal" published in 1990, Stanley Miller, noted that before the advent of mass communications an essential way of publicising local, political, social, commercial and religious events was by means of broadsheets. These were single sheets of printed matter, and, depending on their size, destined for pasting onto hoardings or distributing through letter boxes to people’s homes. Additionally, broadsheets could also be read out in public houses as well as other venues and were shared and passed on to other interested parties. They were often produced very quickly and their purpose was not dissimilar to today’s methods of super-fast social media communication.
In the very first Blackburn Local History Society "Journal" published in 1990, Stanley Miller, noted that before the advent of mass communications an essential way of publicising local, political, social, commercial and religious events was by means of broadsheets. These were single sheets of printed matter, and, depending on their size, destined for pasting onto hoardings or distributing through letter boxes to people’s homes. Additionally, broadsheets could also be read out in public houses as well as other venues and were shared and passed on to other interested parties. They were often produced very quickly and their purpose was not dissimilar to today’s methods of super-fast social media communication.
As an example, political events, by their nature, were promoted by such broadsheets and ephemera. Each Election would spawn its crop of declarations by the candidates, rebuttals by their opponents and satirical pieces ridiculing the opposition.
The Turn of the Tory Screw, 1868, 338 P05 (left) is one of the many political broadsheets held by Blackburn Central Library.
Blackburn Library’s Collection
As well as a good selection of political posters and broadsheets; there are also numerous items giving information in a more factual way on church services & hymns, theatre programmes, trade and commerce and official notices of all kinds. The vast majority of items date from the mid-19th Century onwards, however, there are also a few late 18th Century items held within the collection.
Hopefully, the following presentation and list will give you a clearer idea of the scope and nature of this rich resource of local and social history.
Index of Ephemera
Hopefully, the following presentation and list will give you a clearer idea of the scope and nature of this rich resource of local and social history.
Index of Ephemera
The following list of the catalogued ephemera held by Blackburn Central Library has been compiled by Community History Volunteer, David Hughes. Each broadsheet in the catalogued collection is given a class mark or unique identifier. If further information is required about any item in the collection then please use the unique reference for each item which is contained within the first two columns under Number and Library Service (L.S.) Index.
Examples:
60 G3 is the 1824 memorial Poem recounting the death of William Sadler.
60 G3 is the 1824 memorial Poem recounting the death of William Sadler.
66 H2 refers to the Notice dated 1864 about the Rev'd. Robert West Pearson.
593 T 71 relates to a 1787 Handbill for Blackburn New Theatre.