In Liverpool, Clarkson also purchased objects produced in the city for use in the transatlantic slave trade: leg shackles, handcuffs, a thumb screw and a speculum oris - a device used to wrench open a person’s mouth to force them to eat. Most of these objects were collected by Clarkson from the crews of ships engaged in trade with west Africa, as he toured the ports of Liverpool, Bristol and London conducting interviews to gather evidence for the abolition campaign. It contained items from west Africa, including natural products such as samples of wood, ivory, seeds, spices, gum, tobacco, beans, indigo and cotton, manufactured products such as rope, woven and dyed cloth along with a hand loom and spindle, and finished objects such as iron knives, gold objects, leather sandals, and bags woven from dried grasses. Although some items are now missing, the chest was originally filled with artefacts and samples collected by Clarkson as evidence against the slave trade. Inside the chest are three trays, divided into small compartments.
