Commerce

1867 · rif. ST20572 — Hamilton Scotland: W. Naismith 1867. FIRST EDITION. 168 x 106 mm. 6 1/2 x 4 1/4". vii 183 pp. In the very rare original green paper wrappers. Spine cocked wrappers somewhat soiled spine with paper beginning to lift along the bottom inch of the rear joint other minor exterior defects but the volume solid and internally in excellent condition. QUITE A GOOD COPY of a fragile inexpensively produced volume one would expect to find in shambles. Told in the form of letters drawn from the author's actual correspondence as well as his contemporary journals this first-hand account by a young sailor of the transatlantic slave trade in the years 1800-04 brings those horrific voyages vividly to life. At the same time the author writing in direct unvarnished prose makes it clear he is at least as much an observer of difficult sea life in general as he is concerned with the abolition of a great evil. In the preface Robinson 1786-1875 explains his reasons for publishing this record of his time aboard a slave ship: "I have heard so many gross misstatements respecting West Indian slavery and the horrors of the 'Middle Passage' that I formed the resolution should time be allowed me to give the result of my own experience . . . in order to disabuse the minds of many well-meaning people." He is rightly aware that some readers may be offended by unconvincing apology in an account encumbered with naïveté : "It is doubtless the opinion of many that I put myself into a wrong position and incurred blame and obloquy by entering into this obnoxious trade at all. It may be so; I will not dispute the matter. I certainly did not feel myself comfortable or at home in the service. But let it be remembered in my favour that the trade was then a lawful one; whilst at the same time I was induced to enter it by what is called an accidental circumstance . . . and an irresistible desire for a seafaring life so completely carried me away that it became a matter of perfect indifference to me where the ship went if not to the bottom provided I was aboard of her--or in what trade engaged if not a pirate." As indicated the letters originating in various ports in England West Africa and the West Indies depict a harsh life at sea for all involved but most especially for the wretches who made up the ship's cargo. An accident on board nearly cost Robinson his foot and ended his career at sea just a year before in his words "the united voice of a generous and philanthropic people" passed the Emancipation Bill into law ending British participation in the slave trade. The phrasing here makes it clear our narrator had his heart mostly in the right place. This is a very rare book which is not surprising for a pocket-sized work from a provincial press near Glasgow issued in insubstantial paper wrappers. OCLC records just two copies in libraries both in the UK while RBH and ABSA seem to list no copies at auction except the present one. W. Naismith unknown