Description
1822 Broadside Horrid Cruelty An Account of Most Unnatural Murders Trial
‘Being an account of two most unnatural Murders; the one committed in the City of Carlile on Wednesday the 10th Decr. 1822, on the body of James Hill, a boy about 6 years of age, who was inhumanely beat to death by his own mother, with a broomstick; the other in the town of Morpeth, by Robert Miller, who nearly severed his mother’s head from her body, whilst in bed, a woman nearly 70 years of age and blind upwards of 30. The culprits are both committed for trial at the ensuing Assizes.’
Extremely scarce! Original 1822 broadside sensationalizing the trial and pandering to the public’s bloodlust. These cheap, single sided sheets of paper told tales of crime, trials and executions. They were commonly sold at public courts and executions by hawkers and peddlers, street performers in their own right, and cost a halfpenny or a penny. The broadsides themselves were often produced by printers who specialized in them. No gory detail was spared. The writers were motivated to make a quick penny and thus embellished their stories for shock value, much like the tabloids of today. They were printed to be read and posted up in public places. This copy was archived by the printer John Muir as part of his permanent records.
6.5 x 11 inch broadside on original period mount to 9.5 x 15 inch sheet.
