Memoirs of John Ker, of Kersland in North Britain Esq; Contain ing His Secret Transactions and Negotiations in Scotland, England, the Curt of Vienna, Hanover, and other Foreign Parts. With An Account of the Rise and Progress of the Ostend Compnany in the Austrian Netherlands. Published by Himself

London: Printed [for Henry Curll] in the Year 1726. 8vo, 195 x 113 mms., pp. [v] vi - xi [xii advwets], iv, 180 [181 - 184 index], contemporary calf; jitns cracked andtender, lacks labels, corners worn. This is part one of Ker's memoirs, which eventually extended to three volumes. Designated by OCLC as a "spy," John Ker, of Kersland [formerly John Crawfurd] (1673–1726), assumed the arms and title of John Ker of Kersland in 1697. His various activities in politics, war, education, etc. didn't enhance his fortune, and he found himself in the Kings' Bench Debtor Prison; before dieing there in 1726, he met Edmund Curll,imprisoned for publishing obscene books. The encounter led to Curll's publishing Ker's memoirs. Curll had not acquired Ker's permission before his death, and the texts were published by his son. "Shortly after the final volume of Ker's Memoirs was published, Curll and his son were both arrested; though Henry was quickly released, Curll stayed in prison from November 1726 to 12 February 1728. At that point he was fined 25 marks apiece for the publication of The Nun in her Smock and the treatise on flogging and, more ominously, he was sentenced to an hour in the pillory for the Ker Memoirs. Such a sentence often resulted in the prisoner's death, as the public was encouraged to abuse the prisoner in whatever manner they wished. But on his pillory day, which was 13 February, he arranged to have a broadside printed and distributed to the crowd stating that his punishment was due to his having displayed his loyalty to the much beloved Queen Anne; when his hour was up, the crowd carried him off on their shoulders" (ODNB). Sabin, 37600.