William Wilson, Commonly called Mortar Willie, Kays Portraits, 1815/1835.

"Willm. Wilson. Commonly called Mortar Willie. Aged 107" Dated 1815. This venerable personage was a native of Perthshire, and born in 1709, to use his own words, "within a bow-shot of Castle Huntly," parish of Longforgan. The first thirty years of his life were devoted to agricultural employment, then he fought in the army against the Pretender, and afterwards for nineteen years mainly spent in the German and American wars. After his discharge, he worked for nearly twenty years in a bark-mill in the neighbourhood of London. Returning to Edinburgh in 1778 he worked for a chemist until his death. Copper etched print published in Kay's Edinburgh Portraits, 1837-8. Size 15.5 x 19 cms plus margins. Ref F2003