Benjamin Lay tea towel
This tea towel is inspired by an image of Benjamin Lay painted by William Williams in 1790. Benjamin Lay, a hunchback as well as a dwarf, was an Anglo-American Quaker and humanitarian and is often considered the world’s first revolutionary abolitionist. Against the common sense of the day, when slavery seemed to most people as immutable as the stars in the heavens, Lay imagined a new world in which people would live simply, make their own food and clothes, and respect nature. He refused to consume any commodity produced by slave labour and is best known for his early and strident anti-slavery activities which would often culminate in dramatic protests. He was known to walk abruptly out of a dinner in protest when he found out that his host owned slaves. He was also an author, farmer, and early vegetarian.