William Cameron

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Bio Dates
Birth Year: 
1787
Birth year approximated
Death Year: 
1851
Manuscript Information: 

"Street literature is ephemeral, but a few titles ‘printed for William Cameron’ survive in the National Library of Scotland and in Glasgow University Library." (ODNB)

Publication Notes: 

"He was patronized by whig politicians and publishers like Peter MacKenzie, editor of the Reformer's Gazette ... and the publisher David Robertson" (ODNB).

PoetId: 
1761
Priority: 
1 - Mirrors Superlist - Additional Research Necessary
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William Cameron's Publications

Title Publication Date Publisher Edition Other Editions Editor Collaborator Patron Subscription Description Key Subscribers Pages Call Number Dialect Language Digitized or Digital Editions Additional Notes
Autobiography of a Gangrel

Cameron wrote his Autobiography of a Gangrel for his friend and patron the publisher David Robertson, probably as a way of earning some money (popular autobiographies in this period were often a form of disguised charity), but it was not published until 1888, after both their deaths. It mostly covers his travelling years and draws on the established chapbook genre of an exposé of beggars' tricks. It also describes his temporary marriages to several other itinerants, but he had no known official spouse or offspring.

Personal Map

Birthplace: Yellow | Emigration Locations: Blue | Other Locations: Red

Relationships

Source Relationship Type Target Description View
James McIndoe rival of, friends with William Cameron

In 1818, Cameron "learnt his trade as a ‘speech-caller’ from Jamie ‘Blue’ McIndoe, another well-known street wit. The two were friends and partners for some time, before becoming rivals" throughout the 1820s (ODNB). For years, McIndoe claimed Cameron had "stolen his rightful position as Glasgow's unofficial head speech crier" (Terry).

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