NORTHUMBERLAND ELECTION BROADSIDE – Slim Harry – A New Song – Newcastle – 1826

Newcastle: Reprinted by W. Boag, [1826].

Single printed broadside. Folio. Approximately 27.8 x 22.4 cm.

A rare surviving satirical election song broadside from the celebrated Northumberland Parliamentary Election of 1826, one of the most colourful, expensive and acrimonious county contests of the late Georgian period.

Printed as a political song, the broadside attacks “Slim Harry”, almost certainly a satirical reference to Henry Thomas Liddell, later 1st Earl of Ravensworth, one of the principal candidates in the contest. The song mocks Liddell and his supporters through a series of coded references, comic nicknames and deliberately disguised names, including Tom B—, Tom B—n, John T—y, and others. Such disguises were typical of Georgian election satire, allowing contemporary readers to recognise the intended targets while maintaining a degree of plausible deniability.

The text presents Liddell as beset by unreliable allies, political embarrassment and failing confidence. Its tone is mocking and theatrical, with repeated references to “the County”, “the gentry”, “Liddell’s proud race”, “shy friends”, and “lack-a-daisical” supporters. The effect is to ridicule not merely an individual candidate but the aristocratic and social networks surrounding him.

Especially interesting are the prose notes below the verse, which expand the satire into a fuller political attack. These notes refer to alleged depredations against a “poor Knight”, Custom-house Officers, “animals” carrying off provisions, and the comic figure of “Curly Bob”. Such material reflects the highly personalised nature of the 1826 campaign, in which questions of honour, influence, hospitality, canvassing, intimidation and local reputation were repeatedly drawn into print.

The 1826 Northumberland election produced a remarkable body of ephemeral literature: speeches, songs, squibs, broadsides, mock advertisements, attacks, replies and counter-replies. Slim Harry belongs to the liveliest part of that output, where political argument merges with popular song, caricature and street literature.

A separately catalogued institutional example is recorded at Stanford Libraries, confirming the bibliographical identity of the broadside and its recognised interest as a survival of Northumberland election satire.

Condition: Very good condition. Single-sheet printed broadside. Fold creases. Light age-toning, minor handling wear, and small edge imperfections. Strong and legible throughout. A well-preserved example of fragile Georgian election ephemera.

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