possession, and which served for the purpose of illustrating during the
time that he had been in business. He had a large collection, such as they
were; but as works of art they had little or no pretension, being, upon
the whole, of the oddest and most ludicrous character. Those that were
intended for the small books were very quaint--as we have shown by the
fac-similed specimens we have given--whilst the larger portion, which were
chiefly intended for the "awfuls," were grotesque and hideous in their
design and execution. No more ghastly sight could be imagined than one of
Jemmy's embellishments of an execution. It would appear that for the last
discharge of the law he had a large collection of blocks which would suit
any number of victims who were about to undergo the dread penalty. It
mattered little how many Jack Ketch was going to operate upon, wood-blocks
to the exact number were always adopted, in this particular the great
"Dying Speech Merchant" would seem to have thought that his honour and
reputation were at stake, for he had his network so formed as to be able
to secure every information of news that was passing between the friends
of the culprits and the prerogative of the Crown. But we are informed that
upon one occasion he was nearly entrapped. Three victims were upon the eve
of being executed, and in those days--and in later times--it was not an
uncommon thing to see the confession and dying speech printed one or two
days previous to the event. This we are told by those in the trade was
almost necessary, in order that the sheets might be ready for the
provinces almost as soon as the sentence of the law had been carried out.
It so happened that on the night previous to an execution, one of the
culprits was reprieved. It was solely by a piece of good luck that Catnach
heard of it. Several sheets had been struck off; and Jemmy was often
chaffed about hanging three men instead of two; but our informant assures
us that the error was corrected before any of the impressions were
dispatched from the office. Had they gone before the public in their
original state, the _locus standi_ of the great publisher in Monmouth
Court would have been greatly imperilled. To those who are fond of the
fine arts, _in usum vulgi_, Catnach's embellishments will afford a fund of
amusement. Amongst the lot were several well known places, the scenes of
horrible and awful crimes, engravings of debauchery and ill-fame, together
with an endless number of different kinds, suitable at the shortest
possible notice, to illustrate every conceivable and inconceivable
subject.
The Seven Dials in general, and "The Catnach Press" in particular, had no
dread of copyright law--the principal Librarian of the British Museum,
Stationers', or any other Hall in those days--and as wood engravings were
not to be had then so quickly or cheaply as now-a-days, Jemmy used at
times to be his own engraver, and while the compositors were setting up
the types, he would carve out the illustration on the back of an old
pewter music plate, and by nailing it on to a piece of wood make it into
an improvised stereo-plate off-hand, for he was very handy at this sort of
work, at which also his sister, with his instruction, could assist; so
they soon managed to rough out a figure or two, and when things were dull
and slack they generally got one or two subjects ready in stock, such as a
highwayman with crape over his face, shooting a traveller, who is falling
from his horse near a wide-spreading old elm tree, through which the moon
was to be seen peeping; not forgetting to put the highwayman in top boots
and making him a regular dandy. This was something after the plan of the
artists of the cheap illustrated papers of the present day, who generally
anticipate events sometime beforehand to be ready with their blocks. As a
proof of this, the editor of the "London, Provincial, and Colonial Press
News," says "I happened to call one day on an artist for the 'Illustrated
Press,' and found him busily engaged in sketching a funeral procession
with some twenty coffins borne on the shoulders of men who were winding
their way through an immense crowd. Upon inquiry, I was told that it was
intended for the next week's issue, and was to represent the funeral of
the victims of the late dreadful colliery explosion, for although the
inquest was only then sitting, and all the bodies had not yet been found,
there was sure to be a funeral of that kind when it was all over, and as
they did not know how many bodies were to be buried at one time, it was
very cleverly arranged to commence the procession from the _corner of the
block_, and so leave it to the imagination as to how many more coffins
were coming in the rear; something after the plan of a small country
theatre, when representing Richard the Third, and in the battle scene,
after the first two or three of the army had made their appearance, to cry
'halt!' very loudly to all those behind who were not seen, and leave the
spectators to guess how many hundreds their were to come."
For the illustrating of catchpennies, broadsides, and street-literature in
general, particular kinds of wood-cuts were required. In most cases one
block was called upon to perform many parts; and the majority of
metropolitan printers, who went in for this work, had only a very limited
number of them. Very often the same cuts were repeated over and over
again, and made to change sides as one another, and that simply to make a
little variation from a ballad or broadside that had been printed at the
same office on the day, week, or month previous. It mattered little what
the subject was, it required some adornment, in the shape of illustration,
to give effect to it. The catchpennies, especially those connected with
the awful, were in general very rough productions. A lover strangling his
sweetheart with a long piece of rope. A heartless woman murdering an
innocent man. Vice punished and virtue rewarded, and similar subjects,
were always handled in such a manner as to create a degree of excitement,
sympathy, and alarm. The broadsides, generally adorned with some rough
outline of the royal arms of England, a crowned king or queen, as the
subject might be, received their full share of consideration at the hands
of the artist. Scions of royal blood, and those connected with the court,
were often painted in colours glaring and attractive, whilst the matter
set forth in the letterpress was not always the most flattering or
encouraging.
CATCH-PENNY:--Any temporary contrivance to obtain money from the
public; penny shows, or cheap exhibitions. Also descriptions of
murders, fires, and terrible accidents, &c., which have never taken
place.
Hotton's: _Slang Dictionary_.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE DREADFUL APPARITION
That appeared last night to Henry ---- in this street, of
Mary ----, the shopkeeper's daughter round the corner, in a
shroud, all covered in white.
The castle clock struck one--the night was dark, drear, and
tempestuous.--Henry sat in an antique chamber of it, over a wood fire,
which in the stupor of contemplation, he had suffered to decrease into a
few lifeless embers; on the table by him lay the portrait of Mary--the
features of which were not very perfectly disclosed by a taper, that just
glimmered in the socket. He took up the portrait, however, and gazing
intensely upon it, till the taper, suddenly burning brighter, discovered
to him a phenomenon he was not less terrified than surprised at.--The eyes
of the portrait moved;--the features from an angelic smile, changed to a
look of solemn sadness; a tear stole down each cheek, and the bosom
palpitated as with sighing.
[Illustration]
Again the clock struck _one!_--it had struck the same hour but ten minutes
before.--Henry heard the castle gate grate on its hinges--it slammed
too--the clock struck one again--and a deadly groan echoed through the
castle. Henry was not subject to superstitious fears--neither was he a
coward;--yet a hero of romance might have been justified in a case like
this, should he have betrayed fear.--Henry's heart sunk within him--his
knees smote together, and upon the chamber door being opened, and his
name uttered in a hollow voice, he dropped the portrait to the floor; and
sat, as if rivetted to the chair, without daring to lift up his eyes. At
length, however, as silence again prevailed, he ventured for a moment to
raise his eyes, when--my blood freezes as I relate it--before him stood
the figure of Mary in a shroud--her beamless eyes fixed upon him with a
vacant stare; and her bared bosom exposing a most deadly gash.
"Henry!--Henry!!--Henry!!!" she repeated in a hollow tone--"Henry! I come
for thee! thou hast often said that death with me was preferable to life
without me; come then, and enjoy with me all the ecstacies of love these
ghastly features, added to the contemplation of a charnel-house, can
inspire;" then grasping his hand with her icy fingers, he swooned; and
instantly found himself--stretched on the hearth of his master's kitchen;
a romance in his hand, and the house dog by his side, whose cold nose
touching his hand, had awaked him.
FRIENDS
It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we are at present
compelled, for the support of our friends and families, to offer this
simple, but true tale to your notice, trusting, at the same time, that you
will be pleased to purchase this paper, it being the only means at present
to support the tender thread of our existence, and keep us and our
families from utter starvation which at present surrounds us.
PRICE ONE PENNY.
_Printed for Author and Vendor._
[Illustration]
MURDER OF CAPTAIN LAWSON.
[Illustration]
CRUEL AND INHUMAN MURDER, LAST NIGHT.
[Illustration]
THE SCARBOROUGH TRAGEDY.
Giving an Account how Susan Forster, a Farmer's Daughter, near
Scarborough, was seduced by Mr. Robert Sanders, a Naval Officer, under
promise of Marriage.--How she became Pregnant, and the wicked hardened and
cruel Wretch appointed her to meet him at a well-known, retired spot,
which she unhappily did, and was basely Murdered by him, and buried under
a Tree--and of the wonderful manner in which this base Murder was brought
to light, and he committed to Gaol.
Young virgins fair of beauty bright,
And you that are of Cupid's fold,
Unto my tragedy give ear,
For it's as true as e'er was told.
In Yorkshire, liv'd a virgin fair,
A farmer's only daughter dear,
And a young sea-captain did her ensnare,
Whose station was her father near.
Susannah was this maiden's name,
The flower of all that country,
This officer a courting came,
Begging that she his love would be.
Her youthful heart to love inclin'd
Young Cupid bent his golden bow,
And left his fatal dart behind,
Which prov'd Susannah's overthrow.
Ofttimes at evening she would repair,
Close to the borders of the sea,
Her treach'rous love would meet her there,
The time it passed most pleasantly.
And while they walked the sea-banks over,
To mark the flowing of the tide,
He said he'd be her constant lover,
And vow'd that she should be his bride.
* * * * *
He did confess--they dug the ground while hundreds came to view,
And here the murder'd corpse they found, of her who lov'd so true;
In irons now in Prison strong lamenting he does lie;
And, by the laws condemn'd ere long, most justly he will die.
J. CATNACH, Printer, 2, Monmouth-court, 7 Dials.
[Illustration]
HORRID MURDER, COMMITTED BY A YOUNG MAN ON A YOUNG WOMAN.
George Caddell became acquainted with Miss Price and a degree of intimacy
subsisted between them, and Miss Price, degraded as she was by the
unfortunate step she had taken, still thought herself an equal match for
one of Mr. Caddell's rank of life. As pregnancy was shortly the result of
their intimacy, she repeatedly urged him to marry her, but he resisted her
importunities for a considerable time. At length she heard of his paying
addresses to Miss Dean, and threatened in case of his non-compliance, to
put an end to all his prospects with that young lady, by discovering
everything that had passed between them. Hereupon he formed a horrid
resolution of murdering her, for he could neither bear the thought of
forfeiting the esteem of a woman whom he loved, nor of marrying one who
had been as condescending to another as to himself. So he called on Miss
Price on a Saturday and requested her to walk with him in the fields on
the following day, in order to arrange a plan for their intended marriage.
Miss Price met him at the time appointed, on the road leading to Burton,
at a house known by the name of the "Nag's Head." Having accompanied her
supposed lover into the fields, and walked about till towards evening,
they sat down under a hedge, where after a little conversation, Caddell
suddenly pulled out a knife and cut her throat, and made his escape, but
not before he had waited till she was dead. In the distraction of his mind
he left behind him the knife with which he perpetrated the deed, and his
Case of Instruments. On the following morning, Miss Price being found
murdered in the field, great numbers went to take a view of her body,
among whom was the woman of the house where she lodged, who recollected
that she said she was going to walk with Mr. Caddell, on which the
instruments were examined and sworn to have belonged to him. He was
accordingly taken into custody.
J. CATNACH, Printer, Monmouth Court.
[Illustration]
THE SECRETS REVEALED, OR THE FASHIONABLE LIFE OF LORD & LADY ******.
[Illustration]
DREADFUL MURDER BY A SOLDIER, YESTERDAY MORNING.
THE LIVERPOOL TRAGEDY.
[Illustration]
Showing how a Father and Mother
barbarously Murdered their own Son.
A few days ago a sea-faring man, who had just returned to England after an
absence of thirty years in the East Indies, called at a lodging-house, in
Liverpool, for sailors, and asked for supper and a bed; the landlord and
landlady were elderly people, and apparently poor. The young man entered
into conversation with them, invited them to partake of his cheer, asked
them many questions about themselves and their family, and particularly of
a son who had gone to sea when a boy, and whom they had long given over
as dead. At night the landlady shewed him to his room, and when she was
leaving him he put a large purse of gold into her hand, and desired her to
take care of it till the morning, pressed her affectionately by the hand,
and bade her good night. She returned to her husband and shewed the
accursed gold: for its sake they mutually agreed to murder the traveller
in his sleep.
In the dead of the night, when all was still, the old couple silently
creeped into the bed room of their sleeping guest, all was quiet: the
landlady approached the bedside, and then cut his throat, severed his head
from his body; the old man, upwards of seventy years of age, holding the
candle. They put a washing-tub under the bed to catch his blood, and then
ransacking the boxes of the murdered man they found more gold, and many
handsome and costly articles, the produce of the East Indies, together,
with what proved afterwards, to be a marriage certificate.
In the morning early, came a handsome and elegantly dressed lady, and
asked, in a joyous tone, for the traveller who arrived the night before.
The old people seemed greatly confused, but said he had risen early and
gone away. "Impossible!" said the lady, and bid them go to his bed-room
and seek him, adding, "you will be sure to know him as he has a mole on
his left arm in the shape of a strawberry. Besides, 'tis your long lost
son who has just returned from the East Indies, and I am his wife, and the
daughter of a rich planter long settled and very wealthy. Your son has
come to make you both happy in the evening of your days, and he resolved
to lodge with you one night as a stranger, that he might see you unknown,
and judge of your conduct to wayfaring mariners."
The old couple went up stairs to examine the corpse, and they found the
strawberry mark on its arm, and they then knew that they had murdered
their own son, they were seized with horror, and each taking a loaded
pistol blew out each other's brains.
PRINTED BY J. CATNACH.--Sold by Marshall, Bristol.
Just Published.--A Variety of Children's Books, Battledores, Lotteries,
and a quantity of Popular Songs set to Music. Cards, &c., Printed cheap.
[Illustration]
THE LIFE, TRIAL, CHARACTER, CONFESSION, BEHAVIOUR,
AND EXECUTION OF JAMES WARD,
Aged 25, who was hung in the front of the Gaol,
For the wilful Murder he committed on the
Body of his own Wife.
[Illustration]
To which is added a Copy of Affectionate Verses
which he composed in the Condemned Cell
The night before his
EXECUTION.
PRINTED AT LONDON.
PRICE ONE PENNY.
[Illustration]
THE ARREST OF THE PRISONER.
"For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous
organ."
The prisoner was arrested while drinking with his companions in a
public-house, and after two Magistrates had heard the evidence he was
fully committed to the Assizes to be tried before my Lord Judge and a
British Jury, at the County Hall.
[Illustration]
THE TRIAL!
"Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein."
At an early hour on the morning of the trial, the Court was crowded to
excess, the Judge taking his seat at nine o'clock. The Prisoner on being
placed at the bar, pleaded "Not Guilty," in a firm tone of voice. The
Trial lasted many hours, when, having been found 'GUILTY.' the learned
Judge addressed the prisoner as follows:--
"Prisoner, you have been found guilty of a most cold-blooded Murder, a
more deliberate murder I never heard of. You and your wife had been to
a neighbouring town, and were returning home, when you did it. She was
found in a ditch. I cannot hold out the slightest hope of mercy
towards you in this case." During this address the whole court was
melted into tears. His Lordship then put on the black cap and passed
the sentence as usual, holding out no hope of mercy to the prisoner.
[Illustration: THE COUNTY GAOL.]
[Illustration: THE HOME OF THE GOOD MAN.]
"Sundry blessings hang about his Throne, that speak him full of
Grace."
LETTER WRITTEN BY THE PRISONER AFTER HIS CONDEMNATION.
Condemned Cell.
DEAR SISTER,
When you receive this you will see that I am condemned to die; my Father
and Mother are coming to take their last farewell, and I should very much
liked to have seen you, but knowing that you are on the eve of bringing
into the world another to your family, I beg that you will refrain from
coming; if that you do serious may be the consequences, therefore, dear
Sister, do not attempt to come. I hope that no one will upbraid you for
what I have done; So God bless you and yours; farewell! dear Sister, for
ever.
J. WARD.
[Illustration]
THE EXECUTION.
"A threefold cord is not quickly broken."
The Execution of the above prisoner took place early this morning at eight
o'clock, the people flocking to the scene at an early hour. As the period
of the wretched man's departure drew near, the chaplain became anxious to
obtain from him a confession of the justice of his sentence. He
acknowledged the justice of his sentence, and said he was not fit to live,
and that he was afraid to die, but he prayed to the Lord for forgiveness,
and hoped through the merits of his Saviour that his prayer would be
heard. Having received the sacrament, the executioner was not long in
performing his office. The solemn procession moved towards the place of
Execution, the chaplain repeating the confession words, "In the midst of
life we are in death." Upon ascending the platform he appeared to tremble
very much. The cap being drawn over his eyes and the signal given, the
wretched man was launched into eternity. He died almost without a
struggle. After the body had hanged the usual time it was cut down and
buried according to the sentence in the gaol.
[Illustration]
THE HOME OF THE BAD MAN.
"One Sin doth another provoke."
COPY OF VERSES.
Come all you feeling hearted christians, wherever you may be,
Attention give to these few lines, and listen unto me;
Its of this cruel murder, to you I will unfold,
The bare recital of the same will make your blood run cold.
Confined within a lonely cell, with sorrow I am opprest,
The very thought of what I've done, deprives me of rest;
Within this dark and gloomy cell in the County Gaol I lie,
For murder of my dear wife I am condemned to die.
For four long years I'd married been, I always lov'd her well,
Till at length I was overlooked, oh shame for me to tell;
By Satan sure I was beguiled, he led me quite astray,
Unto another I gave way on that sad unlucky day.
I well deserve my wretched fate, no one can pity me,
To think that I in cold blood could take the life away;
I took a stake out of the hedge and hit on the head,
My cruel blows I did repeat until she were dead.
I dragged the body from the stile to a ditch running by,
I quite forgot there's one above with an all-seeing eye,
Who always brings such deeds to light, as you so plainly see,
I questioned was about it and took immediately.
The body's found, the inquest held, to prison I was sent,
With shame I do confess my sin, with grief I do repent;
And when my trial did come on, I was condemned to die,
An awful death in public scorn, upon the gallows high.
While in my lonely cell I lie, the time draws on apace,
The dreadful deeds that I have done appear before my face;
While lying on my dreadful couch, those horrid visions rise,
The ghastly form of my dear wife appears before my eyes.
Oh may my end a warning be now unto all mankind,
And think of my unhappy fate and bear me in your mind;
Whether you are rich or poor, young wives and children love,
So God will fill your fleeting days with blessings from above.
[Illustration]
THE BURNING SHAME.
OR
[Illustration]
MORALITY ALARMED
IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
JUST PUBLISHED
PRICE ONE PENNY.
[Illustration]
A short time since, some of the moral-mending crew of Parsons,
Magistrates, Quakers, Shakers, Puritans, Old Maids, and highly
respectable, and, now retired from active business "Young Ladies," who now
assume a virtue, though they have it not, and a variety of other goodly
persons ever ready to compound for sins they are inclined to, by exposing
those they have no mind to, living not 50 miles hence, determined on
reforming doings, manners, and customs:--
IN THIS TOWN!
and a meeting in consequence took place at "Rosebud Cottage" the residence
of Miss Mary Ann Lovitt, when, as a first step, it was determined to
remove the facilities and _accommodation_ afforded a
certain--_You-know-what!_ crime very general _in this neighbourhood_ by
hunting out of the town:--
A CERTAIN LADY ABBESS!!
who keeps a very genteel house for the _accommodation_ of "single young
men and their wives" and one who never offends, or bores her patrons by
asking for a sight of their 'Marriage Certificates.'
At the meeting, the armchair was taken by the Rev. John ---- ---- ----
B.A., of this parish, Mr. Churchwarden Smith, and Mr. J. Brown, the
draper, supporting him on either side; when a variety of methods were
suggested for the removal of the alledged social evil, one thought
_entreaty_ might best answer, another was for _force_, a third recommended
the Religious Tract Society, while a fourth was for the aid of the Very
Rev. Rowland H------l, Miss A. and Miss B. were both loud in their praise
of the Rev. Jabez B------g, mention was made of the Society for the
Suppression of Vice, at length the Reverend Divine Chairman was called on
for his opinion, when he--conscious of the integrity and purity of his own
life and _experience!_ at once pronounced:--
A BURNING SHAME!!!
as the only effectual remedy for the ever increasing evil. This was indeed
a harsh measure, and some of the worthies looked a variety of colours on
the occasion, but as none had the moral courage for personal character
sake to oppose the parson's proposition, it was carried unanamously. A
board bearing on it in legible characters:--
BEWARE OF A BAD HOUSE!!!!
was soon prepared, and with a lanthorn attached, was paraded before the
house of the fair--but frail duenna's mansion. It did not remain long in
this position as the following letter from the lady abbess of the
_Agapemone!_ soon had its deserved effect:--
GENTLEMEN:--"If the board and lanthorne is not removed from the front
of my house in one hour from this time, I will publish the _name_,
_profession_, and _address_, of every _gentleman_--together with that
of the _lady_ accompaning him who has visited my "_Establishment for
Young Ladies_" during the last six months. Some of your worships know
on whom this would fall heaviest."
Yours with thanks for past favours,
AUNT.
It is almost needless to say that the _board and lanthorne_ were very soon
removed, and, that, the old, and _accommodating_ lady is doing a good
business again:--
THUS CONSCIOUS DOES MAKE COWARDS OF US ALL.
[Illustration]
THE FULL, TRUE AND
PARTICULAR ACCOUNT
OF THE
[Illustration]
EXTRAORDINARY MARRIAGE
That took place in THIS TOWN on Thursday last.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE VENDORS.
PRICE ONE PENNY.
[Illustration]
"Who would have thought he had been a--
He was such--a nice young man."
About a week since, a dashing young blade, dressed in the very height of
the prevailing fashion, having long black and curly hair, together with a
pair of out-and-out slap-up whiskers and moustaches, and calling himself
Count de Coburgh Aingarpatzziwutchz, and professing to be a foreigner and
a man of enormous fortune, and one of the _haut ton!_ took up his lodging
at the principal inn, The ---- Arms, in this town, where the swell
foreigner looking blade soon made a great stir among the ladies of the
place; the old, the young, the tall, the short, the fair, and the dark,
were all alike smitten over head and ears in love with the distinguished
visitor, but none seemed to make so much impression upon his heart as Mary
Jane Jemima S----w, the youngest of the landlord's daughters of The
----Arms Inn, of this town. She is well known in this neighbourhood to be
very handsome, with light brown hair all in ringlets, light blue eyes, a
fine aquiline nose, and of a tall and commanding figure, aged about sweet
17 years of age, and very tender.