Norfolk hero Horatio Nelson wore glasses, letter reveals

It is only fitting as Nelson’s county we should take a more than normal interest in Horatio and his life.

It is very interesting how antiques can prove and inform about things in his life, some 200 years ago, that we didn’t know until now. 

We certainly knew that many artefacts connected with Nelson are always collected and tend to make outrageous prices, had they not had the connection, they would simply have been overlooked.

One such item recently was a spoon.  Just a simple fiddle patterned dessert spoon that is reputed to have come from a silver service made for Lord Nelson and his personal use. 

The hallmark gave us 1796, made by a London silversmith, William Eley, and William Fearn.  It was engraved with Nelson’s personal crest, San Josef. 

The crest depicts the stern of a Spanish warship, captured on Cape Vincent in 1797. 

The crest was granted to Nelson when he was given the Order of the Bath in that year. 

Obviously, the spoon had been made and left plain, but after his honor, it was engraved with his recently acquired crest. 

A spoon like this could be expected to make, maybe £80-£100, but because of this association with Nelson, this one single spoon made £3,000 at auction.

Various items connected with Nelson have been on the collectors market for years, probably one of the most sought after would be a vinaigrette; a small personal smelling salts box that you kept in your waistcoat pocket or handbag. 

These tiny little boxes were skillfully made by specialist makers who made it their business producing an item of strength and quality.

Several varieties of Nelson vinaigrettes were made. 

Woolley & Wallace, sale room in Sussex, earlier this year, sold a part of a private collection of, at least, four different vinaigrettes with the Nelson association. 

Today, you could expect a plain vinaigrette of this type to make, probably between £150 and £300. 

Amongst them, was one that I remember selling many years ago, at an antiques fair in St Andrews Hall for about £35-£40. 

I remembered selling it to a Norwich lady.  The same model box sold at the sale for £5,500.  Other models made slightly less, between £800 and £1,500.

These were made very soon after Nelson’s death or very soon after the Battle of Trafalgar, so well thought of, is Lord Nelson that these items of memorabilia live on.

When a collectable surfaces that had never been known about before, this causes a great stir in the collecting community. 

Once such item has reared its head, to be auctioned on April 25 in London; it reveals a hitherto unknown detail about Nelson, in that he wore and used glasses.

Seemingly an account on a letter-heading from his optician and the person who repaired his telescopes and like equipment. 

The account shows quite clearly the reference to a pair of spectacles or quizzing glasses, a single magnifying lens on a single handle, was testament to his failing sight, although neither pair of glasses seemed to have survived, nor can we find any reference on an illustration of Nelson wearing such glasses. 

This rare document throws light on the side of the famous Admiral that we had no idea of, and it very important that such a document should be kept safely with all those other references to Nelson, helping us to understand a fuller picture of this very famous Norfolk man.

Our kind thanks to Lawrences Auctioneers in Somerset for the image of the spoon; Woolley & Wallace Auctioneers in Salisbury for the image of the vinaigrette and Charles Miller Ltd Auctioneers in London for the image of the spectacles document.

Mike Hicks

STALHAM ANTIQUE GALLERY

29 High Street, Stalham, Norfolk, NR12 9AH

Gallery: 01692 580636

Email: info@mikehicksantiques.co.uk

Website: mikehicksantiques.co.uk