A True Account of the Most Extraordinary Outrage on Mr. Gee..

1834. [London]: G. Smeeton, Printer, [1834].. [London]: G. Smeeton, Printer, [1834]. One Other Copy Located [Broadside]. [Crime]. Gee, William. A True Account of the Most Extraordinary Outrage on Mr. Gee, A Respectable Solicitor, Of Bishop Stortford Who was Inveigled into a House in York Street, Commercial Road, Where He was Dragged into a Den, And Not Only Chained from Behind, But Fastened by His Feet by Cords to the Floor: And Thus Obliged to Sign Over to the Perpetrators, A Cheque for ?800. And an Order for Some Deeds. [London]: G. Smeeton, Printer, [1834]. 10" x 7-1/4" (25.5 x 18.5 cm) broadside mounted to 11" x 8-1/2" (28 x 21.5 cm) backing sheet, text in single column below headline. Moderate toning, a few tiny stains, offsetting from adhesive to corners of broadside, tiny clean tear to its right edge. Rare. $1,600. * After Gee was engaged to invest ?2,000 as part of executing an estate, he received a letter from a prospective client inviting him to a house in York Street to discuss business. When he got out of the coach, he quickly realized that things were not as they seemed. Three men attacked him, bound him and demanded that he sign over the investments and the remaining money from his estate case. (The participants were led by a disgruntled relative who had been left out of the will.) Gee managed to escape his captors and report the abduction and theft to a local magistrate. The perpetrators were eventually acquitted of theft on a technicality but convicted of assault and imprisoned. This broadside is a fine example of the work published by George Smeeton [1780-1847], one of the best-known publishers of crime-related pamphlets and broadsides in the early-nineteenth-century London. This is a rare item. OCLC and Library Hub locate 1 copy (British Library).