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Courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Americana Collection
Courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Americana Collection
William Otridge
Courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Americana Collection

William Otridge

English, 1745 - 1812
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William Otridge (c. 1740–1812) was a London trade publisher and bookseller who operated an establishment in the Strand from 1767 until 1812. His business model focused on purchasing private libraries and compiling retail stock catalogs for buyers. Otridge's shop served as the retail distributor for legal scholar Francis Hargrave’s 1772 volume, "An Argument in the Case of James Sommersett, a Negro." This text was published following the landmark Somerset v. Stewart court ruling, which determined that chattel slavery had no legal basis under English common law.