The "Ballad of Birmingham" broadside first came to Professor Carothers’ attention in Februrary of 2016, when it was featured with other items in a Library exhibit devoted to Broadside Press. Students in Professor Carothers’ class began their work with a visit to Special Collections, where they heard a short presentation on the Civil Rights movement, the 1964 church bombing, and the role of the broadside in the history of printing. The students also had a chance to visit the Broadside Press exhibition in the Library.
Next, they began planning how they would produce their own version of Randall’s famous broadside. The printing work took place at UD’s Raven Press, a fully equipped letterpress printing facility, where students gain skills in this centuries-old craft. Professor Carothers guided them through the process of deciding which type fonts and sizes would allow them to produce a broadside that would accommodate all of Randall’s 32- line poem.
The end result was two, large broadside versions of “The Ballad of Birmingham” on paper made at Newark’s Curtis paper mill, which closed in in 1997. One of the broadsides is on display in this exhibition.
The photographs show several stages of the students’ work at Raven Press.
