comprising Volumes I and II (1799); Volumes III and IV (1800); Volumes V and VI (1801); and Volumes VII and VIII (1802), being the first four years of The Naval Chronicle, which ran from 1799-1818 (8)
| Estimate: | £5,000 - £7,000 |
Provenance: Purchased from Major W. G. Hills of Okehampton on 12th August 2015. He in turn had bought them at Duke’s Auctioneers, 3rd November 2005.
Duke’s printed the following provenance in the 2005 catalogue:
“According to a note in the book Lord Bridport (auction at Cricket St. Thomas, circa 1900), Edward T. Almes, Lt Commander J.F. Duckworth, and thence by descent. The Hood Family (Lord Bridport).’’
Major Hill’s typed notes state: ‘The following two hand written notes were found in the volumes’
Note: All except Volume V contain the same bookseller’s pencil note at the front stating “7 vols’’, and in Volume I is added the price ‘27/6’. Volume II contains the left-handed ink signature of Admiral Lord Nelson, as ‘Nelson & Bronte’, to the front blank end paper.
Note Two: “These 6 vols of the Naval Chronicle were purchased at the Sale by Auction of the effects of the late Lord Bridport at Cricket St Thomas in (or about) 1900.
N.B. On the fly sheet of Vol II will be observed the name “Nelson & Bronte’’ which is in all respects similar to Nelson’s signature. It would be reasonable to suppose, having regard to the close relationship of Nelson and Lord Bridport that these Vols were at one time the property of Lord Nelson (Duke of Bronte).
They were purchased at the auction of Lord Bridport’s effects at Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, in 1897. The fact that Nelson’s signature appears only in Vol II will account for it having escaped the eyes of the dealers at the sale. Edward T. Almes. Broadhurst. Taunton. 1905.’’
Note Three: “Nelson’s own signature appears on the title page of this vol. The set of 7 volumes were purchased at the sale at auction of Lord Bridport’s effects at Cricket St Thomas in or about 1900 by E. Winter, bookdealer of Taunton from whom I purchased them very shortly afterwards- Winter had not observed Nelson’s signature in the 2nd volume! (Vide my note in Vol I).’’
The whereabouts of the original handwritten notes are now unknown, though their contents were transcribed.
Many of Nelson’s relics, orders and decorations passed to his niece, Lady Charlotte Nelson, who married Samuel Hood, Lord Bridport, of Cricket St Thomas. The large part of the collection was sold at Christie’s, London, in 1895, but it appears further artefacts from the Bridport collection, including these volumes, were sold locally in 1897.
