Obit: John Harkness, Ballad Printer, 1898

Subject: RE: Obit: John Harkness, Ballad Printer, 1898
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 06:05 PM

Pedlar's_Pack is the name of the Yahoo list. There are quite a few people on the Tradsong and Pedlar's_Pack lists who are not on Mudcat, including Steve Roud himself so if you can post the Harkness info to Pedlar's_Pack and anything else of a similar nature you come across this would be useful.
Cheers,
Steve

Subject: RE: Obit: John Harkness, Ballad Printer, 1898
From: GUEST, Sminky
Date: 05 Nov 08 - 04:29 AM

Thanks Steve - I actually joined a while back. The title eludes me too but I'll find it again.

Subject: RE: Obit: John Harkness, Ballad Printer, 1898
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 02:18 PM

Amen to that.
Gregg Butler is the official Harkness bibliographer. We have a new list for broadside printing research which you might like to join, or even if not post a similar message on. It's on Yahoo and you can get to it via Tradsong List on Yahoo. I'll come back with more info shortly. I can't remember its title to my shame.

Subject: Obit: John Harkness, Ballad Printer, 1898
From: GUEST, Sminky
Date: 04 Nov 08 - 11:10 AM

Sorry I'm a bit late with this, but I finally discovered that John Harkness died in Blackburn in 1898 aged 83.

Although he spent 50-odd years of his working life in Preston, Lancs (he was born in Carlise in 1814), he seems to have spent his latter years avoiding all attempts to trace him and he died in complete obscurity.

Two of his sons became printers after him, but this was at the end of the age of the street ballad.

I'm not sure what he was doing in Blackburn, but I seem to remember that a large part of his stock, including his collection of wood-cuts, was sold to a dealer in Blackburn, so maybe there's a connection there.

Anyway, 110 years late I know, but here's to you John.