7. Slip Songs and Engraved Song Sheets

During the 1690s a new print format began to emerge – the slip song, or slip ballad, which rapidly became the most popular means for disseminating the words of popular songs. There has been little research into the format and production of these songs. This chapter therefore provides a case study of the 3,800 songs listed on ESTC annotated with the words slip song. It considers such matters as the format, illustration, price, subject content, date, language, authorship and or performance, place of publication, and who printed, sold, or collected them. During the last quarter of the eighteenth century a new format emerged of engraved song sheets and these are also briefly considered.