Mackenzie & his 1827 History of Newcastle

Eneas Mackenzie's A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, including the Borough of Gateshead is one of the most important works pertaining to Newcastle's history that has ever been published. It hit the shelves in 1827, and is most commonly found in this 2vols-in-1 format. 

I say 'commonly', but it is not very often you get a chance to buy a copy of one of the first editions ... but I managed to snag one the other day off eBay. I couldn't believe it when it popped up in one of my searches, thus:

A two volume work bound as one volume. 760 pages, measures 28 x 23 x 6 cms, approximately. Has all the plates present and in-text vignettes. An ex-library copy that has been reset in its binding. Has library stamps to front and rear end-papers and to the title-page. Has been well read with tears to some pages, foxing and handling and age-related marks. The boards are rubbed and worn to the edges.

Tell you what, though, it's a cracking copy, and a bargain at £45+p&p. It's the sort of thing that local history fans like me just love to lay our hands on. When I unpacked it and laid it on my office desk, I set about a quick gander. I'm sure I was just beginning to salivate over the musty old pages when my wife walked in on me. It was like being caught looking at porn. I hadn't intended to tell her about my 'illicit' purchase, and my actions took some explaining I can tell you. In actual fact, and despite my enthusiasm for the 'real thing', the book is readily available online to download as a 'Google Book'. But there's nothing like a 1827 first edition, is there? I mean, howay, man, just look at it!

Mackenzie himself was born in 1778 in Aberdeenshire. His family moved to Newcastle when he was three, and he at first seemed destined to become a shoemaker like his father. He became a baptist minister, and briefly tried his hand in business as a broker at Sunderland. He soon returned to Newcastle, opened a school, then changed his mind again, becoming a printer and publisher. After a distinguished career in this line of work, Mackenzie was to fall victim to the cholera epidemic of 1831-32, being one of several hundred to die in Newcastle during the outbreak*. He died on 21st February 1832 "after a few hours' illness" and was buried in Westgate Hill Cemetery.

1832 was also the year of the Great Reform Act, which received royal assent on 7th June. Mackenzie was especially well-known at the time of his death in so much as he was a big supporter of the campaign for electoral reform, even appearing as a speaker at a 50,000-strong demonstration on the Town Moor in October 1831. Mackenzie was instrumental in founding Newcastle’s Mechanics’ Institute, where his bust is preserved.

So there you have it, my new prized possession. And just to top it off, tucked inside the tome was this nice note from the seller:

*The UK’s cholera epidemic of 1831-32 began, in fact, in Sunderland in October 1831, before spreading nationwide. It was brought to these shores by a ship carrying infected sailors.