Broadside ballad printed with an account of the 'Shocking Death of M. De Groof, The Flying Man' in 1874. The ballad, printed in two columns, describes how the Belgian was killed whilst attempting to demonstrate his 'flying apparatus. ' Having ascended in a balloon from Cremorne Pleasure Gardens De Groof crashed near St Luke's Church when jumping from the balloon as his flying wings failed to inflate.
Broadside ballads on popular topical issues were primarily mass printed by small back street publishers based in areas such as Seven Dials. 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.
