Protest Poster for Auction at Bonhams
Last Updated on Friday, 19 March 2010 01:00 Written by a2e Friday, 19 March 2010 01:00
An extremely rare poster protesting against the hanging of a prominent black Jamaican citizen and printed in Birmingham by E.C. Osborne of Bennett’s Hill as part of a campaign for a Royal Commission is being offered by Bonhams at its Manuscript, Maps and Books Sale at 101 New Bond Street on 23 March.
George Gordon, a magistrate and elected member of the island’s Assembly, was executed on trumped up charges following the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865. A long standing and effective spokesman for the landless black community, Gordon was loathed by the white plantation class who used the rebellion as an excuse to rid themselves of a thorn in their side. The Island’s acting Governor, Edward Eyre, – a celebrated explorer of Australia – put down the rebellion with savage force, arrested Gordon and had him hanged for sedition even though he had played no part in the unrest.
www.bonhams.com/books
