In this article, Martyn Downer explores the enduring fascination with Norfolk hero Admiral Lord Nelson, as expressed through the public clamour for Nelson-related artefacts.
The lavish and highly theatrical state funeral afforded Admiral Lord Nelson in January 1806 (described in our article December 12) was far from being the end of his remarkable story, which continues to this day.
Even during the admiral’s lifetime, an industry had developed catering to the public’s demand for souvenirs of his actions, such as commemorative ceramics, glassware, prints, and medals.
Nelson’s death at his moment of greatest triumph and the outpouring of emotion it generated supercharged the market for Nelson memorabilia which, 220 years later, shows no sign of abating.
A sale to be held in London on January 20 by specialist maritime auctioneers Charles Miller Ltd, the largest auction dedicated to Nelson since the Trafalgar bicentenary sales in 2005, demonstrates again the enduring fascination that Nelson holds for collectors.
The auction focuses on Nelson’s death and funeral through letters, pictures, objects, and relics.
And so, among the manuscripts is a letter from Nelson’s celebrated flag captain Thomas Masterman Hardy grieving his commander and giving the first account of the now-iconic “England Expects ....” signal hoisted by HMS Victory as the battle commenced at Trafalgar (estimate £3,000-£5,000).
None of those signal flags survive today, but the sale does have remnants of the white ensign worn by Victory at her stern during the action.
At the time, the Royal Navy generally flew red ensigns into action but Nelson, predicting a close, or “pell-mell” battle, specifically ordered his captains to wear white to better distinguish their ships and lessen the risk from friendly fire.
Victory’s ensign was subsequently paraded by seamen from the ship through the streets of London ahead of Nelson’s funeral at St Paul's where, at the climax of the service, it was torn to shreds by the seamen in a frenzy of souvenir hunting.
The auction has small, well-provenanced scraps of the ensign with estimates from £1,000 to £8,000 but it also showcases the largest known surviving section of the flag which is approximately three-foot square.
Torn and battle-stained, this remarkable and affecting relic is arguably the most significant of all flags associated with Nelson, or indeed with the history of the Royal Navy.
Sold at Sotheby’s in 2018 for £297,000, the flag returns to market now with an estimate of £500,000-£700,000, the value enhanced by the recent sale at Christie’s of a Union Jack flown at the Battle of Trafalgar, which sold for over £1 million.
As soon as Victory arrived back in England with Nelson’s body famously stowed in a barrel of spirits, artists flocked to Portsmouth to portray the ship’s battered state.
One lucky painter called Arthur William Devis secured access and remained on board as the Victory worked its way around the coast to London.
Devis sketched the officers and men for a monumental picture of the death of Nelson, now at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Devis’s sketch of Captain Hardy is in the auction (estimate £8,000-£12,000) together with a haunting posthumous portrait of Nelson showing the admiral in uniform but taken during his autopsy in Victory, which Devis had attended (£40,000-£60,000).
This striking image was the last in a celebrated series of portraits of Nelson by various artists which he had encouraged in his lifetime to further his fame.
After the autopsy, which Victory’s surgeon published in all its gory detail, Nelson’s body was placed in a series of coffins for its final journey to internment at St Paul’s Cathedral.
After lying-in-state at the Royal Hospital Greenwich, and a river procession to Whitehall, the coffin was placed on a fantastical horse-drawn pantechnicon designed as Victory and drawn to the cathedral.
For decades afterwards, the funeral carriage was displayed at Greenwich until it eventually fell apart.
The figurehead was salvaged, together with two armorial banners which the carriage displayed, both of which are reunited for the first time since the funeral at the forthcoming auction (£100,000-£150,000).
Perhaps the most affecting relic in the sale is the most modest.
As Nelson lay dying in the orlop deck of Victory, he entreated Captain Hardy to “let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair.”
In Nelson’s highly sentimental age when death was ritualised, it was not uncommon to preserve and venerate the hair of a deceased loved one, often mounted in a jewel.
Anxious to honour his friend’s final wishes, Hardy arranged for Nelson’s hair and pigtail (or queue) to be shorn after death before the body was placed in the barrel of spirits.
He then delivered the hair in person to Emma Hamilton in London when Victory returned to England.
Much of the hair and the pigtail is now on display at the National Maritime Museum, although it is known that Emma gifted strands to friends.
Captain Hardy also received some hair which, with their impeccable provenance, are included in the sale (£1,500-£2,000).
The sale ends fittingly on the most celebrated and globally recognised memorial to Nelson: his famous column in Trafalgar Square.
Not raised until 1843, the column was erected following a competition for the best design.
Two architectural drawings by William Railton of his winning design are included in the auction (£1,500-£2,000).
These show the column without the statue of Nelson which was then added by sculptor Edwin Hodges Baily.
Nelson’s Column was finally completed in 1867 when four bronze lions, designed by Edwin Landseer, were placed around the plinth for generations of children to then climb on.
Drawn from private collections, all these remarkable items will soon begin new lives, perpetuating the memory of Britain’s, and Norfolk’s, greatest naval hero.
Auction details: now on view until January 20.
Webcast auction, visit www.charlesmillerltd.com for catalogue and more information.
Martyn Downer is the world's leading expert in artefacts connected with the life and times of Admiral Lord Nelson. Martyn, a member of the Nelson Society, has published several books on this subject, including Nelson's Purse and Nelson's Lost Jewel.
The Nelson Society, founded in 1981 at the Norfolk Club in Norwich, is a registered charity whose object is to raise public awareness of the life and times of Admiral Lord Nelson and his navy. Membership is open to all with an interest in this subject. New members are welcome. More information can be found on the Society’s website at www.nelson-society.com.
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