Mr Axe and Mr Tax

Satirical broadside ballad entitled 'Mr Axe and Mr Tax The Fame of the Shop, or Billy's Desert.' The twelve verse ballad refers to the hugely unpopular Shop Tax introduced by William Pitt's government in 1785. Above the verses printed in two columns is a hand coloured engraving depicting an axe and the figure of a gentleman. From the axe is a speech bubble with the words 'I face you Sir, to make you mind, For if you don't I'll come behind'. From the male figure come the words 'Your hot invectives, Mr Axe, I value not a single Louse; The Nation must be sav'd by Tax, from going to a Spunging-house'. Published by J.Barrow on August 30th 1785 the ballad could be purchased from Parsley located at Christ Church Surrey and Rich at 75 Fleet Street.

Broadside ballads on popular topical issues were hugely popular with Londoners. Primarily mass printed by small back street publisher they were sold by ballad hawkers trading on London's streets and pedlars travelling the country. The ballad writers would receive little reward from the printers for their efforts, reportedly sometimes only a few pints of ale. The Shop Tax introduced on all shops with a rental value of over £5 a year affected a large number of London's shopowners where rents were high. Growing anger against the government resulted in the abandonment of the tax just four years later.