Lot 62
£1,125
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 30 September 2020 at 11:00 BST
Exemplified, in the Life, and various vicissitudes of fortune of Peter Williamson, who was carried off from Aberdeen in his Infancy, and sold for a Slave in Pennsylvania. Edinburgh: printed for and sold by the Booksellers, 1792. 12mo, modern quarter calf, lacking frontispiece some browning
Note: As a boy, whilst living with an aunt in Aberdeen, Peter Williamson was kidnapped and, after a long voyage, sold as an indentured servant in Philadelphia for a sum of £16. Claiming that he was 8 years old when this happened, this work is Williamson's narrative of his experiences: his master left him the means to settle on a farm in Delaware. In 1754, he was taken prisoner by a group of Cherokee Indians but escaped the following year. He subsequently joined the army before being wounded and was shipped back to Plymouth, in England, where he embarked upon the long walk back to Aberdeen. En route, his stories attracted interest. He published his book, and was charged with libel by the Aberdonian authorities after accusing them of playing a part in the kidnapping of children from the city. Instead, Williamson successfully prosecuted the Burgess of Aberdeen and proceeded to establish a coffee house in Edinburgh's High Street. Williamson is also credited with introducing the postal service to Edinburgh - the "Penny Post" - and produced the first directory of gentry, merchants and tradesmen in the city.