Harris Broadsides

Broadsides are single-sheet publications, often issued as ephemera or announcements. The Harris Broadsides Collection is a comprehensive collection of American poetry published in broadside format from colonial times to the present. The collection offers materials covering a broad spectrum of American life, and includes poetry of every description: 18th and 19th century ballads, verse describing newsworthy events, poetic effusions of sentimentality and patriotism, comic verse, and much more. When completed, this digital project will include over 20,000 titles.
This collection is part of Brown University Library, hosted by Brown University.

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Items in this collection

The valley of silence

The valley of silence

Brown University

Printed on pink paper in two columns divided by ornament. Poem in eleven six-line stanzas. Author's name not on item. Suggested range of publication dates from internal evidence and because poem published in author's Father Ryan's poems, San Francisco, 1879 with title Song of the mystic.

The unshadowed way

The unshadowed way

Brown University

Christmas card At end of text: Read at the thirty-fifth anniversary of the writers' college class, and now sent to you with Christmas and New Year's greetings from Harry and Helen Koopman ..

The unshadowed way

The unshadowed way

Brown University

Christmas card At end of text: Read at the thirty-fifth anniversary of the writers' college class, and now sent to you with Christmas and New Year's greetings from Harry and Helen Koopman ..

The unshadowed way

The unshadowed way

Brown University

Christmas card At end of text: Read at the thirty-fifth anniversary of the writers' college class, and now sent to you with Christmas and New Year's greetings from Harry and Helen Koopman ..

The unknown shore

The unknown shore

Brown University

A poem on Heaven. Issued in at least two formats, with varying spacing between lines. Printed area: 15.2 x 5.9 cm. First line: The unknown shore, the unknown shore.

The United States frigate Boston's battle with the French corvette Le Berceau: The sailor boy, and The Indian chief

Printed in two columns divided by single rule. Single rule used to separate poems. Wood-engravings of sailing ships flanking title at head of text; wood-engraving of sailing ship and female figure at head of second poem; wood-engraving of three Indians at head of third poem. Suggested publication date from internal evidence. The Indian chief attributed to Mrs. Hunter by Thomas L. Philbrick, in "British authorship of ballads in the Isaiah Thomas collection," Studies in bibliography, Papers of the Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, v. 9, 1957, p. 255-258.

The Union: a national song

1 broadsheet. Printed in red and blue with eagle and motto at head of text. Text within shield.

The Union: a national song

1 broadsheet. Printed in red and blue with eagle and motto at head of text. Text within shield.

The Union: a national song

1 broadsheet. Printed in red and blue with eagle and motto at head of text. Text within shield.

The Union: a national song

1 broadsheet. Printed in red and blue with eagle and motto at head of text. Music by J.M. Deems to first verse and chorus printed within shield on recto; text on verso.

The Union jack: Newburgh, N.Y. November 17, 1866

Broadsheet printed in two columns divided by single lines. At center of title vignette of American flag. "A. Ludlow Case, Editor and Proprietor." Newspaper published by a child, includes fiction, news, conundrums and advertisements.

The Union

The Union

Brown University

Text of song in four eight-line stanzas with four-line chorus beginning: Division? No never! Author's name not on item.

The Union

The Union

Brown University

Poem calls for victory of Union, promises friendship between present enemies after war, and criticizes British for building Confederate privateers and French for taking Mexico. Poem calls for victory of Union, promises friendship between present enemies after war, and criticizes British for building Confederate privateers and French for taking Mexico. At head of text: To the public. The bearer, having lost his eye-sight in the pursuit of his business ... takes this means of gaining a livelihood ..... Poem in four ten-line stanzas. Suggested range of publication dates because of references to ongoing Civil War.

The unfortunate lady of Kentucky

Printed in two columns divided by line of type ornaments with woodcut of woman at head of title. At head of text: These lines were composed by an unfortunate young lady of Kentucky .. At end of text below curvelinear line: Printed and sold at No. 25 High Street, Providence, where 200 other kinds of ballads are kept for sale. Above address was Henry Trumbull's between 1826 and 1836 according to the Providence Directory.