Author’s note
167 Words
Author’s noteI FOUND KOFI GYAN’S handwritten manuscript in an old wooden chest in the loft of one of those big old houses in Cape Coast. It must have lain there untouched for over a hundred years. The wooden chest had a rusty iron padlock which I had to break open so that I could lift the lid off the chest, as the hinges had also rusted away.
Since Cape Coast is at the coast, it is very humid and as a result the document had suffered from all those years of high humidity. The paper was yellowed and fragile and the ink faded. The copies of the 1873 and 1874 Illustrated London News which occupied most of the space in the box were in only slightly better condition.
I have carefully transcribed Kofi Gyan’s story and scanned pictures from better preserved copies of the ILN. Apart from this, my editorial input has been minimal. Sadly, Kofi’s original diaries were not in the box and have yet to be discovered.
- Writer
