Now, somewhere else on this forum I got into a discussion which wandered a bit off thread but the gist of Steve Gardham's argument at that time, was that all folk songs can be found on broadsides. By implication therefore, Steve (and he is not alone on this) maintains that the broadside was a significant means of dissemination of the songs contained therein. Thus, it would seem that writing it down was considered, and according to some, proven to be a very effective means of preserving, spreading and encouraging participation in folk song. This would make the original statement on this thread simply untrue.
Significantly? I can't find any participation on this thread from Steve.
Paul