Particulars of the Trial and Execution of Thomas Norton, Who was Executed in Front of the Old Bailey this Morning

Execution broadside printed with an account of the crime, trial and execution of Thomas Norton aged 25 found guilty of assault and robbery of a Surgeon in Bethnal Green. Norton was part of a gang that had committed previous crimes in the Bethnal Green area - three members of the gang had already been convicted and executed for the same crime. The broadside, printed by Thomas Birt, notes that, when found guilty Norton was very penitent as seen by a copy of a letter he wrote to his mother before his execution when he was "was launched into eternity". The broadside ends with a poem.

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 ususally printed between the end of the trial and the date of the execution (usually a gap of a few weeks) they could be quickly changed to accomodate last minute information 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.