Horrid Murder of the Bar-Maid of the King's Arms wine-vaults, Brooke-street, Frederick-street Hampstead Road

Crime broadside printed with an account of the murder of Eliza Davis a 21 year old barmaid originally from Wales who was strangled behind the bar of the King's Arms Public House, Frederick Street, Regent's Park in May 1837. The broadside includes a woodcut engraving of an artist's impression of the murder showing Eliza being strangled. The broadside incorrectly names the victim as Hannah Davis and notes that a French modeller named Entre is 'strongly suspected' of the murder as 'he was heard to say on Saturday last that he would do for the deceased, because she refused to trust him with some liquors.' However this evidence is contradicted by a notice offering a reward for the apprehension of the murderer published on Friday May 12th 1837 that stated ' he is no foreigner as has been stated in some of the papers' The murder of Eliza remained unsolved and no-one was ever charged with her murder.
Broadsides recounting particularly gruesome and scandalous crimes and murders were mass printed and cheaply sold to newshungry Londoners. Primarily 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 the spelling and grammar was often poor and the details not always accurate. In this case, for example the Christian name of the victim is incorrectly noted as being Hannah.