Printed Ephemera — 1744
The Debtor's Salutation
Songsheet printed with the words and music of the popular tavern song 'The Debtor's Salutation'. At the top of the page is printed a black and white engraving depicting a scene from a debtor's prison cell captioned with a verse from Shakespeare 'now have we time to meditate and think on the state of our misfortunes some caus's thro Error some by Will'.
Published by Act of Parliament in 1744 the words of this song may have been written by the Jamaican poet Francis Williams. The son of freed slaves, Williams travelled to England where he was educated before returning to Spanish Town, Jamaica. There he opened a school where he taught Latin, reading, writing and mathematics. Williams is thought to be the first recorded black writer in the colonial period.
- Category:
- Printed Ephemera
- Object ID:
- A23169
- Object name:
- The Debtor's Salutation
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1744
- Material:
paper, ink
- Measurements/duration:
- H 260 mm, W 181 mm (overall)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.