The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #49294   Message #743837
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
07-Jul-02 - 11:54 AM
Thread Name: street peddler's songs
Subject: RE: street peddler's songs
You probably won't find much that's earlier than the late 16th century, and most books on the subject seem to concentrate on the C18th/19th. There's certainly material available, though; arranged as "art music" mostly, of course, so not necessarily very authentic. Have a look at the works of Thomas Ravenscroft at Greg Lindahl's Sixteenth Century Ballads, in particular:

Melismata (1611)

Broomes for old shooes, Where are you faire Maides, and -perhaps- Maides to bed would serve, I expect.

Rather later are the various Cries of London broadsides, which are mainly compendia of street-cries knocked into the shape of a song. Several (without music, of course) can be seen at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads. The following (printer and date unknown) is quite interesting:

The cries of London ("Hark! how the cries in every street ...")