Broadsides
Broadsides, or broadsheets, are items printed on one side of a sheet of paper and generally posted or distributed as advertisements or bulletins. They were an effective means of connecting people and conveying information. Often broadsides reported newsworthy events or provided additional information or instructions, as this example illustrates.
Detail of 1622 broadside • Call number: F229 .W32 1622
This broadside makes reference to criticisms the Virginia Company had been facing: "The inconveniencies that have happened to some persons which have transported themselves from England to Virginia, without provisions necessary to sustaine themselves …"
This 1622 broadside was printed in London to alert potential emigrants of the items they would need to survive in the alien land of Virginia. It reflects the goods deemed essential for life in the "new world" and their cost in terms of pounds, shillings, and pence. The list consists of five different categories: apparel, victuals (food), arms, tools, and household implements. The combined expense of necessary supplies and passage to Virginia was estimated at twenty pounds. Click here for more images
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