First published in 1869, but here reprinted from the 1886 edition, this book gives a lively account of the world of popular publishing in the early nineteenth century. It illustrates the colourful biographies of John and James Catnach, printers of ballads and broadsheets, with remarkable woodcuts drawn from their work.

A compelling Victorian account of a leader amongst the nineteenth-century presses providing cheap printed materials for the mass market.