An account of the execution of richard parker, which took place On Board His Majesty's Ship Sandwich, lying at Sheerness, on Friday, June 30, 1797. To which is added, An authentic statement of Mrs. Ann Parker's Unremitting endeavours to obtain an Interview with her Husband, on board the Sandwich, previous to his Execution with the extraordinary manner in which she recovered the body from the place of Interment at Sheerness, and other events subsequent to its arrival in London. As related by herself

[EXECUTION]. [PARKER, Richard]

Published by [s.n., s.d., 1797?], [s.i.]

About this Item

8pp. Later gilt-lettered half calf, marbled boards. Rubbed, with loss at head and foot of spine, corners. Small ink-spot to margin of first leaf, else internally fine. Gilt-tooled morocco bookplate of Edward Hailstone (1818-1890), Yorkshire solicitor and antiquary, and ink inscription of 'J.A. Turner, 59a Brook St.' to FFEP. An apparently unrecorded edition of an account of the late eighteenth century execution of seaman Richard Parker (1767-97), convicted as one of the leaders of the Nore mutiny of 1797. One of two significant mutinies of the Royal Navy in 1797, the Nore mutiny - ostensibly led by Richard Parker, who had been elected as President of the Delegates of the Fleet - was inspired by the April-May mutiny at Spithead, began on May 12, and lasted until 13 June, including an attempted blockade of the Thames. The demands of the mutineers centred on alteration of the articles of war, pardons and better pay but - perhaps of most concern for the a Government fearing revolution - were eventually expanded to include the immediate negotiation of peace with France. Parker had a chequered past, which included imprisonment in Newgate for crimes undetermined, and apparent bouts of mental delusion. Later scholarship, including in the Oxford DNB by Ann Veronica Coats, has raised questions as to whether he was the true leader of the mutiny. Nevertheless, the Admiralty were determined to make an example of the mutineers, and Parker, their talisman, was hanged from the yardarm of the ship, HMS Sandwich, on which he served, off Sheerness. Contemporary accounts of the trial and execution were numerous, and include chapbooks and cheap street literature. This edition is an example of such popular and cheaply printed literature, and, eminently disposable, does not appear to have troubled institutional holdings. Whilst other editions of accounts of the execution of Parker are known, this is the only example we could locate which references the mutineer's widow's efforts to recover her husband's body after execution. The eight pages of text open with four recounting the relatively sombre final hours of Parker; the four following, recounting the efforts of his wife, Ann in a similar time frame, to attempt to secure firstly a pardon, secondly a Sheerness boat from which she could witness the execution, and thirdly a rather macabre disinterment to enable his burial 'like a gentleman as he had been bred', is understandably frenetic and disturbed. The text of this work appears to have later been the basis of the account of Parker's execution in the compilation Criminal Recorder (Nottingham, 1815). Unrecorded by OCLC and COPAC. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # AQ21500

Bibliographic Details

Title: An account of the execution of richard ...

Publisher: [s.n., s.d., 1797?], [s.i.]

Binding: Hardcover