These carried news, royal proclamations, public announcements as well as popular ballads and sensational court reports. From 1802, at 6 Great St Andrew Street (now 33 Monmouth Street), Johnny Pitts (1765-1844) printed and sold ballads alongside running his well-known toy shop, as mentioned in Charles Dickens' chapter on Seven Dials in 'Sketches by Boz' (published in 1836). His once-famous toys included 'Slender Ben' - which sounds both intriguing and delightful.

Pitts was the acknowledged and established printer of street-literature for the 'Dials district but soon another company set up nearby in Monmouth Court. This was owned by James Catnach and a powerful rivalry began between the two businesses.

Of the two, 'Jemmy' Catnach (1792-1841) was the most famous and successful of the local broadsheet sellers, producing them on an unprecedented scale. This was so lucrative that Catnach even made weekly trips to the Bank of England in a hackney coach which carried sacks of coins!

Upon his death, Johnny Pitts left several thousand pounds and his obituary states that, at the beginning of his career, he had once been a baker before he learnt his craft from a City printer. Pitts Toy and Marble Warehouse, 'where may be obtained all the old and new songs of the day', was still in existence in Soho in 1888.

Jane Palm-Gold is an artist, curator, and historian living in St. Giles, London. You can follow Jane on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.