The Curing of Cacao - Its Preparation for Export

William McKinnon and Company Limited

Aberdeen, Scotland, 1798 - 1996

Keywords

Slavery-Exported To Plantations

About MeFirm established in 1798 by William McKinnon (1777-1873) and continued in the McKinnon family for a further 2 generations (John & Frederick L.). Since then McKinnon’s have continued to be connected with the firm but not on the administrative or directorial level.

The business started as a general iron foundry with milling machinery being a speciality. The move into coffee-pulping machinery was made in 1840 and has been the firm's speciality ever since. They won a gold medal in London in 1914 for Tropical Agricultural Machinery.

The main market was export although some small parts made for the local market, for example manhole covers, parts for granite machinery and the like. The firm also held the patent for the suet shredding machine used by Atora.

John Gray (of Gray's School of Art) was a partner of William McKinnon and is listed in a record book for 1884 as drawing a salary of £25 per month.

For a more detailed Company History and insight into the collection, please consult the PDF document that is accessible alongside the primary image on this page.

Wikipedia Biography

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Re-framing the Collection

History and Legacy of Enslavement in Aberdeen

Aberdeen iron foundry involved in the export of equipment for use on slave plantations during the 19th century.