came across this truly fantastic site chronicling scottish broadsides from 1650-1911. For almost 300 years until the mid-19th century broadsides ruled the streets. they were the tabloid press of their day, and when i say tabloid, i mean tabloid, all modern negative association is certainly applicable. they are fascinating. a quick browse through the categories reveals quite clearly that no matter how much we decry the fall and failings of the media, in truth, nothing has really changed. these broadsides are the oprah, us weekly, entertainment tonight, ny post, crossfire, court tv, and weekly world news of their day, all rolled into one. categories include body-snatching, apparitions, dueling, pirates, incest, prostitution, transvestites, freemasonry, and treason just to name a few. the site itself is extremely well done and a read through the broadsides, with their gorgeous machine text and woodblock illustrations, offers a fine window into the quality of human informational hunger, then and now. enjoy. (via mefi)