Sykes-Baron Broadside Ballad Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection is in fact one item – a piece of linen twenty centimetres wide and, when unrolled to its full extent, nine metres long, on to which have been pasted fifty sheets, containing a total of 260 broadside ballads (including seven duplicates). These printed sheets carry song texts, some with tune titles and some decorated at the top with woodcut pictures. The choice
of medium to carry these sheets is believed to derive from the fact that the Sykes family were cloth merchants.
The repertory is composed mainly of popular ‘drawing room’ and ‘theatrical’ songs, and is national rather than local in its subject matter. As such, the roll represents a personal collection of favourite songs and a snapshot of taste in popular songs in the mid-nineteenth century.
In several places on the roll sheets have been pasted one on top of another, possibly as a means of saving space, or as a result of one song’s popularity displacing that of the one below. Only through conservation attention and the lifting of these sheets has it been possible to ascertain accurately the number of songs contained on the roll.
A set of photocopies is also available.
Dates
- Creation: 1839 - 1841
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available for consultation by appointment. Due to the fragile nature of the original item, readers may only consult the photocopy sheets in the first instance. If necessary, further investigation of the original may be permitted.
Biographical / Historical
The collection, estimated to date from the period 1839-1841, was created by William Sykes (1821-?) of Green Foot House, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. His name, and that of his daughter, S.A. (Sarah Ann) Baron (1855-?), appears on the front of the collection, handwritten in black ink. A further name, possibly G. Lynwood, also appears on the front of the roll. It is not known what connection this person had with the Sykes/Baron families. Sarah Sykes married John Baron during the 1870s, and it is unclear whether her name appears because she helped in the collecting of the ballads, or (perhaps more likely) because ownership passed to her on her father’s death. Certainly, it is known that the collection passed to Sarah and John Baron’s son, Howard (1884-?), who in turn passed it to his son, also Howard (1915-1988).
Extent
2 Box(es)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The sheets do not appear to have been pasted onto the roll in any particular order (neither chronological nor according to subject matter). It is believed, however, that the pasting of sheets onto the roll started from both ends, such that having filled a certain length from one end it became quicker to start from the blank end rather than unrolling the fuller side to reach the next available space.
Custodial History
Donated by Margaret Baron, widow of Howard, the grandson of Sarah Ann Baron, in 1988.
Topical
- Description rules
- International Standard for Archival Description - General
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository
Western Bank Library
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN United Kingdom
+44 (0) 114 222 7299
lib-special@sheffield.ac.uk