Description:Mr. Massey was an election agent working for Gower and Macdonald in the Newcastle election campaign of 1790. His detailed accounts for the election expenses tell us how an election campaign was organised in the late eighteenth century and where and how the agents spent money to ensure a campaign ran successfully.
Campaign Ribbons
Like the modern day rosettes and banners we see at local and general elections, Massey’s accounts include a receipt for £107 and thirteen shillings ‘for Ribbons had at and previous to the Election’ in 1790. The wearing of coloured ribbons showing support for Gower and Macdonald and the circulation of propaganda were both important means of rallying support for the candidates in an election campaign.
To learn more about the Election Accounts, click on the images on the left.