Trials and execution of John French, for Horse-stealing, and John Williams, for House-breaking, Who were executed at the Old Bailey this Morning

Execution broadside printed with an account of the crimes, trial and sentencing of the prisoners John French and John Williams who were publicly executed outside the Old Bailey on 19th December 1827. Printed by Thomas Birt the broadside includes a generic woodcut engraving of the Newgate gallows and crowd of spectactors and notes that French, aged 54 was convicted of horse stealing and John Williams aged 23 convicted of stealing from a dwelling house.

Until 1868 public hangings were a popular form of entertainment for the London crowd. Such occasions provided an opportunity for cheap printers and street vendors to 'turn a penny on the street' by selling accounts of the crimes, trial and 'dying speeches' of executed criminals as souvenirs to the baying spectactors. As soon as the trap fell the street vendors began running amongst the crowd selling the broadsides. Execution broadsides were published by a small number of printers many of whom, such as Thomas Birt, James Catnach and James Pitts were based around the Seven Dials area of London. Spelling and grammar was often poor and the details not always accurate. Although usually printed between the end of the trial and the date of the execution (usually a gap of a few weeks) they could often be quickly changed to accomodate last minute information such as reprieves and dying confessions. The printers often used battered woodcuts, and, for the gallows scene used a stock block with a pierced central section to allow the sex and required number of hanging figures to be changed as required. Female criminals were depicted by using a block for a male figure, cut square at the knee to represent a skirt.