Collection of broadside ballads from England. Broadside (or broadsheet) ballads were one of the most common forms of printed material produced between the 16th and 19th centuries in England, Ireland, and North America. They centered on popular subject matter such as moral advice, current events and politics, satire, comedy, and crime and were sold in large numbers on street corner and at fairs, and pinned to the walls of ale houses and other public places.