Admiral Hotham Triumphant

Broadside ballad entitled 'Admiral Hotham Triumphant,' referring to the British Commander of Mediterranean Fleet during the naval Battle of Genoa in March 1795. The verses printed in two columns on the bottom half of the sheet recount a version of the battle between the French and British fleets that suggests the triumph of the Admiral and the British fleet. In reality, however, the battle was indecisive with Captain Horatio Nelson, bearing the brunt of the fighting. The ballad is illustrated with a woodcut depicting the battle. Printed the month following the battle this was one in a series of ballads printed by John Marshall in the 1790s. Such illustrated broadsides were often purchased for framing and decorating the walls of homes.

Broadside ballads depicting news stories of heroism and British victory were extremely popular with Londoners. Often printed by small back street printers the ballads were then sold as souvenirs by hawkers trading on London's streets. The ballad writers would receive little reward from the printers for their efforts, reportedly sometimes only a few pints of ale.