Lila de Nobili (1916-2002)/Entry of Carabosse in the Prologue/costume design for 'The Sleeping Beauty', Royal Opera House, 1968/watercolour, 28.5cm x 22.5cm /Note: This wonderful production in which the sets were by Henry Bardon and the costumes by de Nobili lasted for only 66 performances. It was the first attempt to replace Oliver Messel's legendary 1946 one. The concept, one of a romantic Victorian Gothic vision of the middle ages, was regrettably too great a departure for the Covent Garden audience to accept. At least three other attempts by various designers succeeded it, all failed and the Opera House returned to a bowdlerised version of the 1946 Messel CONDITION REPORT: ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk
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Lila de Nobili (1916-2002)/An attendant on a Fairy in the Prologue/a costume design for 'The Sleeping Beauty', Royal Opera House, 1968/watercolour, 30cm x 23cm/Provenance: This wonderful production in which the sets were by Henry Bardon and the costumes by de Nobili lasted for only 66 performances. It was the first attempt to replace Oliver Messel's legendary 1946 one. The concept, one of a romantic Victorian Gothic vision of the middle ages, was regrettably too great a departure for the Covent Garden audience to accept. At least three other attempts by various designers succeeded it, all failed and the Opera House returned to a bowdlerised version of the 1946 Messel CONDITION REPORT: ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk
Lila de Nobili (1916-2002)/Carabosse in disguise in Act One/a costume design for 'The Sleeping Beauty', Royal Opera House, 1968/watercolour, 25cm x 16cm/Provenance: This wonderful production in which the sets were by Henry Bardon and the costumes by de Nobili lasted for only 66 performances. It was the first attempt to replace Oliver Messel's legendary 1946 one. The concept, one of a romantic Victorian Gothic vision of the middle ages, was regrettably too great a departure for the Covent Garden audience to accept. At least three other attempts by various designers succeeded it, all failed and the Opera House returned to a bowdlerised version of the 1946 Messel CONDITION REPORT: ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk
Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980)/Richard Buckle, the ballet critic, Sir Roy Strong and behind him Joe Predera, Buckle's assistant, in the landmark exhibition of Beaton Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in the autumn of 1968 /inscribed 'For Roy - from Cecil'/ photograph, 19.5cm x 29cm/Note: This was the first exhibition of a living photographer in a national institution, the seminal event which began the transformation of the National Portrait Gallery CONDITION REPORT: ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk
Astrid Zydower (1930-2005)/Sketch for 'Compass Man' in the Expo 1967 Exhibition, Montreal, Canada, 1967/signed with initials and dated 1966/pencil, 24cm x 15cm/Note: A drawing for the sculpted figure that was part of the huge contribution by Zydower to the 1967 Expo Exhibition and the first time she worked with James Gardner. This was part of a many-figured tableau entitled 'The British at Home'/Literature: The final sculpted figure is reproduced in Peter C Amsden, Astrid Zydower ARCA, MBE, ASAT Productions, 2008, p 77/Provenance: Given to Sir Roy Strong by the artist CONDITION REPORT: ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk
Astrid Zydower (1930-2005)/Elizabeth I Watching the First Performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'/signed with initials/cast bronze tableau, 66cm high, maquette bronze for the life size tableau/Exhibited at The Shakespeare Exhibition (celebration of the 400th anniversary of his birth) Stratford upon Avon 1964 CONDITION REPORT: ARR Artist's Resale Right may apply to the sale of this lot, incurring an additional fee. For further information please ask Chorley's or visit www.dacs.org.uk
English School, early 17th Century/Portrait of Anne Shirley, Widow of John Brooke/three-quarter length, wearing a black dress and holding a book in one hand, the other resting on a chair/inscribed 'ANO DNI 1603 AETATs 47' and with a coat-of-arms upper left/oil on panel, 111cm x 88cm/Note: Anne Shirley (1554-1608) was the daughter of Francis Shirley of Staunton Harold, Leicestershire (1515-1571) and Dorothy Gifford and wife of John Brooke (died 1598) of Madeley Court, Shropshire. John's father, Sir Robert Brooke (died 1558) was a major jurist, MP for the City of London in five Parliaments and Speaker in 1554, the same year in which he was made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. John was his son by his father's first wife, Anne Waring whom he married in 1537. John inherited the Madeley Court estate which had been purchased by his father in 1544 and which was to be the family seat for two centuries, although he did not obtain it until after the death of his father's second wife, Dorothy Gatacre, about 1572. He was responsible for the handsome gate house which still survives; the house is now a hotel. The Brookes were conservative in religion and latterly recusant. By the middle of the 18th Century the family had slipped from prominence as the estate was divided and sub-divided, this portrait presumably descending by way of one of these fragmentations. It depicts the sitter as a widow in black clasping a prayer book with one hand, the other resting on an opulent chair upholstered with gilt nails and fringing. The latter are carried out over gold leaf, a technique abandoned by the new wave of artists in the 1590s. The perspective of the chair is typically Elizabethan and a parallel treatment occurs in George Gower's famous Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The extraordinary attenuated rendering of the hands could form the basis for identifying other works by what must have been a provincial artist/Provenance: The portrait turned up in a local saleroom in Pontrilas, minus its identity which, thanks to the coat of arms top left, was established by a member of the College of Arms. Purchased at a sale at Nigel Ward & Co., Pontrilas, Hereford, 2nd July, 2011, lot 310 CONDITION REPORT: Paint has in the past lifted, this has been re fixed to surface and areas of loss repainted, this is particularly prevalent in her dress. Areas of her face and ruff have been restored and touched in. The painting has been heavily cleaned and restored.
Taxidermy - Three Indian Black Buck specimens, the first head and neck mount with horns measuring +/- 57 cm mounted on a wooden shield marked "Shot by J.R.D.S. Bikaner December 23rd 1911", marked to the rear Colonel Smith, the second a skull mount with +/- 63 cm horns mounted on a wooden shield marked "Shot by J.R.D.S. 11th March 1903 at Budhowal Farldrot" together with a skull mount with missing horns marked to the shield "Shot by J.R.D.S. 9th March 1903 at Taitu Nabha".
Autographs, Motor racing, Formula One, selection of signed photographs by various Formula One motor racing drivers including Jacky Ickx, Patrick Tambay, Jacques Swaters, Dan Gurney, Stefan Johansson, Tim Schenken, Paul Frere, Bob Bondurant, Rene Arnoux, Chris Amon, Jose Froilan Gonzalez (2; scored Ferrari’s first ever win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix) etc (13)
Football, selection inc. 7 Friendly programmes Wimbledon v QPR 65/6, Norwich v Peterborough 61/2, Wellington Invitation X1 (New Zealand) v Wolverhampton Wanderers 1972 etc, also AC Milan postcard 1961-2, four commemorative football covers inc. Bournemouth v Bradford City 22 Aug 1987 (Bournemouth first match in Div 2) signed by goal scorer Richards, Sunderland v Bournemouth 27 Aug 1988 (First meeting of the Clubs) signed by Marco Gabbiadini, Celtic Centenary etc, pennants for Barcelona & Real Madrid, Official Club printed autograph sheets for Sunderland 59-60, Aston Villa 62-3, Wolves 60-1 etc, folder relating to Portsmouth FC testimonial fund for Johnny Gordon & Alex Wilson inc. programme, photos etc, two small autographs albums containing a small selection of signatures inc. Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leicester etc.(mostly gd/vg) (approx. 30 items)
A RARE FIGUREHEAD MAQUETTE FOR THE CLIPPER SHIP ABERGELDIE BUILT BY JOHN DUTHIE, SONS & CO., ABERDEEN, 1869 in the form of a 34in. high full-length highland clansman, wearing a tam o’shanter and tartans with sporran and holding a claymore handle, depicted stepping forward on a plinth base -- 53in. (134.5cm.) high overallFootnote: The full-rigged Abergeldie was built in Aberdeen by Messrs. Duthie and launched in April 1869. Owned by her builders for almost her entire career, she was intended for the lucrative Australian wool trade and was widely regarded as a particularly strong and handsome vessel. With her fine lines, stout construction – including iron deck beams – and lofty sail plan, she entered service under the command of Captain James Duthie with high expectations from all concerned, especially as she had cost more than practically any other Aberdeen-built ship before her. On her maiden voyage, she left Aberdeen on 17th May (1869) in company with another brand new clipper, the Centurion, and the two of them raced to London with Abergeldie getting in first at 3.20am on the 21st. Despite this, she proved steady and reliable rather than a record-breaker, although many of her homeward passages were better than average. After an uneventful six years, she was badly damaged in “a furious gale” just after leaving Sydney early in November 1875 and forced to return there for significant repairs to all her upper masts. In October 1879, whilst at sea, she suffered a serious fire below decks but when the hatches were unsealed after four days, the fire had fortunately extinguished itself due to lack of air. Early in 1884, she was again damaged in a gale and forced to limp back to Sydney for further repairs estimated at £800. Sadly, the autumn of 1889 proved a watershed and barely three weeks after a brief stranding on the Thames foreshore after colliding with the barge Aldeborough off Barking, she was then in another collision, this time fatal, at the beginning of November. After twenty years in the wool trade, she had been sold by Duthies after the stranding in the Thames and was bought by Messrs. J. Rust & Co., timber merchants. Leaving London with a cargo of iron on 23rd October 1889, bound for Sundsvall (Sweden), and there to load timber for Melbourne, she collided with the S.S. Eden, of West Hartlepool, off the Norwegian coast and sank almost immediately although all her crew were picked up by the British steamer.Condition report: claymore lacking blade, paintwork sympathetically restored
G. ROBERTO (ITALIAN, 19-20TH CENTURY) S.S. ‘King Cadwallon’ – Glasgow Watercolour Signed ‘G. Roberto 1904’ (lower left) and inscribed with title 16 x 24in. (41 x 61cm.)Footnote: The first King Cadwallon was bought by the King Line in 1894 (launched in 1892 as Auriga) but foundered off the Hook of Holland in 1902; The replacement, depicted in this picture, was bought in 1904 (launched 1900 as Edderton) was wrecked on Lewis rock, Scilly Isles, 22nd July 1906. It clearly wasn't a lucky name as the third and last King Cadwallon was bought in 1923 (launched 1920 as War Piper) caught fire and wrecked in East London trying to get to Melbourne with a cargo of coal in 1929.Condition report: Good condition, faint watermark to center
A FINE BUILDER’S HALF-BLOCK MODEL FOR THE BARQUE GEORGETOWN BUILT FOR CAVAN BROTHERS, LONDON BY ROBERT THOMPSON, SUNDERLAND, 1858 the 36in. hull carved from 1in. laminated wood with contrasting gunwale and gun ports, with gilt paper decorative stern with finely carved figurehead with foliate gilt work to bow and stern, mounted on wooden display base with specification plate, overall measurements -- 10 x 53½in. (25.5 x 136cm.) Provenance: Monkwearmouth Historical Society, deaccessioned 2017Footnote: The wooden barque Georgetown enjoyed the unusual distinction of having her original rig upgraded to that of a full-rigged ship, when the opposite was normally the case, and she was also very long-lived by the standards of the time. Built by R. Thompson & Sons in Sunderland in 1858 to the order of Cavan Bros. of London, she was registered at 414 tons (net and gross) and measured 135 feet in length with a 26½ foot beam. Under her first master, Captain Cobb, she operated in the West India trade and remained on this route, despite several changes of ownership, for almost all her career. Re-rigged as a ship in 1866, Cavans sold her to the Colonial Company in 1869, and in 1881 she was sold to Scruttons who had previously managed her for Colonial. Sold again in 1885, this time to Fawcett & Waugh of Newcastle-on-Tyne, she finally disappears from record during the 1890s, almost certainly broken up in view of her age.Condition report: Fine overall condition, display board later
AN AMERICAN BULKHEAD SHIP’S CLOCK FOR THE TOLEDO SHIPBUILDING COMPANY CIRCA 1900 the 6½in. silvered dial with maker’s mark for the Ashcroft Manufacturing Co., New York, numbered 4212 and inscribed to centre The Toledo Shipbuilding Company, Toledo, Ohio with red and black Arabic numerals, ebonised spade hands and two winding arbors to two-train going barrel movement contained within brass bulkhead case with hinged face plate -- 8¼ x 4in. (21 x 10cm.)Footnote: The Toledo Shipbuilding Company launched its first ship in 1890 and its last in 1979.Condition report: dial a little discoloured/rubbed but otherwise in good overall condition and running well
A 1:48 SCALE ADMIRALTY BOARD STYLE MODEL OF THE 100 GUN FIRST-RATE SHIP OF THE LINE ROYAL WILLIAM AS REBUILT TO THE 1719 ESTABLISHMENT, THOUGHT TO BE 19TH CENTURY the hull carved below the ebonised main wale and planked and pinned over, hinged gunports with Venetian red interiors and rings, boarding ladder with canopied admiral’s entrance, chainplates with deadeyes, carved giltwood double equestrian figurehead, giltwood stern carvings, pierced and carved balconies with ‘WR’ monogram, glazed windows and quarter lights, painted decorative bulwarks, catheads with sheaths, roundhouses, planked decks with gratings, stovepipe, belfry, capstan with spars, spare masts, poop deck with companionways and double helm under, bound masts with yards, fighting tops, standing and running rigging with carved blocks and tackle, loosely mounted on ebonised cradle stand with name, overall measurements -- 53 x 60 x 25in. (134.5 x 152.5 x 63.5cm.) Provenance: Deaccessioned from the Russell-Cotes Museum, Bournemouth, 2021; Understood to have been sent from India to the Museum in the 1920s.Footnote: Designed and built at Chatham under the direction of Sir Phineas Pett, great-nephew of the builder of Charles I’s fabled Sovereign of the Seas, the Prince was one of three first rates dating from 1670, all of which were laid down to replace the capital ships destroyed or captured by the Dutch during their infamous raid on the Medway in June 1667. Prince was measured at 1,395 tons and was 167 feet in length with a 45 foot beam. Mounting 100 guns, she was powerful as well as handsome, and was first commissioned in 1672, on the outbreak of the Third [and last] Anglo-Dutch War. Her then lieutenant – later her captain – Sir John Narbrough called her “a great and brave-contrived ship” and found that she “wrought very well in staying and bearing up, and steereth mighty well.” Throughout the Third Dutch War (1672-74), Prince acted as flagship for several high-ranking officers including the Duke of York, the King’s brother and the future James II, and thereby attracted the enemy’s special attention. At the battle of the Texel (11th August 1673) she was subjected to a particularly determined assault by a group of Dutch ships and barely avoided destruction in what proved an epic fight that soon became the stuff of legend within the Royal Navy. Extensively rebuilt at Chatham in 1691-2, which increased her beam to 47 feet 10ins., she was renamed Royal William upon completion of the work and saw her first action under her new name at Barfleur on 19th May 1692; this and the even more decisive action at La Hogue a few days later effectively ended French naval superiority in the Channel and thereby greatly influenced the successful outcome of the so-called ‘War of the English Succession’ (1689-97). Rebuilt a second time in 1719, this essentially new ship – but one which incorporated all the usable parts of the original Prince – then achieved her own fame by her remarkable longevity. After participating in the capture of the great Canadian fortress of Louisburg in 1758 and then the city of Quebec the following year, she was last in action at the battle off Cape Spartel when Lord Howe defeated a large Franco-Spanish fleet on 20th October 1782. Hulked in 1790, “Old Billy”, as she had become affectionately known, was finally broken up in 1813 at which time her ancient timbers were said to be “tough enough to turn the strongest nails.”Condition report: Overall wear and losses to paint and rigging with some loose parts on deck.
![A FINE 1:48 SCALE ADMIRALTY BOARD STYLE MODEL OF THE 100 GUN FIRST-RATE SHIP ROYAL GEORGE [1756] the 42in. planked and pinned](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/2868a735-29dc-4d17-810a-acfc00a43eb5/b25d7dc7-d978-4355-ae1f-acfc0104a404/468x382.jpg)
A FINE 1:48 SCALE ADMIRALTY BOARD STYLE MODEL OF THE 100 GUN FIRST-RATE SHIP ROYAL GEORGE [1756] the 42in. planked and pinned hull with ebonised main and secondary wales with hinged gun ports, finely carved double equestrian figurehead, relief carvings to bulwarks, glazed stern with balustrades and further carving, three brass lanterns, planked decks with cutaway masts, gratings, belfry, well deck with two fitted boats and spare spars, companionways and other details, cradle mounted on wooden display case with glazed cover, overall measurements – 21 x 54 x 15½in. (53 x 137 x 39.5cm.)Footnote: Immortalised in William Cowper’s epic poem On the Loss of the Royal George, the spectacular sinking of H.M.S. Royal George at Spithead on 29th August 1782 was one of the worst disasters ever to befall a vessel of the Royal Navy. The magnificent 100-gun 1st rate Royal George was launched at Woolwich on 18th February 1756 after nine years on the stocks. Measured by her builder at 2,065 tons, she was 178 feet in length and mounted 28 guns on each of her three decks plus a further 12 on her quarterdeck and 4 on her forecastle. Serving with distinction in both the Seven Years’ War (1756-63), during which she was flagship to Sir Edward Hawke at his daring and decisive defeat of the French in Quiberon Bay on 20th November 1759, and the American War of Independence (beginning in 1775), the summer of 1782 found her lying at Spithead amongst a fleet being assembled to relieve the siege of Gibraltar. Whilst she was taking on stores prior to departure, a party of dockyard plumbers came aboard to fit a new pump and requested that the ship be heeled over to allow a small hole to be drilled in her side below the waterline. Captain Waghorn agreed and various tiers of the ship’s cannon were moved in order to assist the manoeuvre. Suddenly, and without warning, water began pouring into the lower deck and a few minutes later, at about 9.20am. on 29th August, Royal George rolled onto her beam ends and sank in full view of every vessel in the anchorage. Not only were most of her officers and crew drowned, including Rear-Admiral Kempenfelt, but also a large number of women and children who were aboard visiting their husbands and fathers; although the actual total could never be verified, some estimates put the loss of life as high as 900 persons. The subsequent Court Martial blamed rotten timbers giving way under the stress of the heel as the most likely cause of the disaster but, whatever the truth, it remains one of the most embarrassing losses in the long history of the Royal Navy. Several attempts were made to salvage items from the ship, most notably by Colonel Pasley in 1839, and her remains were finally blown up by the Royal Engineers in the early 1840s. The materials recovered were fashioned into all manner of souvenirs and mementoes for which, despite the ship’s tragic end, there was a lively market.Condition report: Fine overall condition.
![AN EXCEPTIONAL 1:72 SCALE MODEL OF THE 50 GUN SALISBURY CLASS SHIP CENTURION [1774] the 24in. planked hull copper sheathed be](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/2868a735-29dc-4d17-810a-acfc00a43eb5/32635fc9-a72d-4260-93eb-acfc0104a4d5/468x382.jpg)
AN EXCEPTIONAL 1:72 SCALE MODEL OF THE 50 GUN SALISBURY CLASS SHIP CENTURION [1774] the 24in. planked hull copper sheathed below the waterline, ebonised main and secondary wales, open gunports, guns and rings, finely carved full-length Roman Centurion figurehead, glazed stern with balcony and quarter galleries, metal anchors with bound wooden stocks, chainplates and deadeyes, planked decks with fittings including gratings, bitts, stovepipe, belfry, well deck with capstan and three fully fitted ships’ boats over, hammock nets, companionways, binnacle box with chimney, rigged double helm, deck light, shot racks, bound masts with bracing, yards with stuns’l booms and furled stitched linen sails, fighting tops, standing and running rigging with blocks and tackle and much other fine detailing. Mounted on 2 turned brass columns within wooden plexiglass case, overall measurements -- 36½ x 45½ x 16½in. (90 x 115.5 x 42cm.)Footnote: During the late 1760s, increasing colonial unrest prompted the Admiralty to expand the Royal Navy’s capabilities, most notably with the building of numerous 3rd and 4th Rate ships-of-the-line. The 4th Rate H.M.S. Centurion was one such vessel and, having been ordered on Christmas Day 1770, she was laid down in Barnard’s yard at Harwich in May 1771. Constructed to a well-tried design by Surveyor Thomas Slade, she was measured at 1,044 tons and mounted 50 guns of varying calibre, principally a volley of 24-pounders on her main gundeck. With an overall length of 146 feet and a 40½ foot beam, her dimensions were fairly standard for her tonnage and, after three years on the stocks, she was launched on 27th May, 1774. Fitted out and completed for sea just as the American War of Independence was gathering momentum, she was hastily commissioned with a crew of 350 officers and men and sent to join the fleet standing off the eastern seaboard of the United States. Joining Sir Peter Parker’s squadron of five 50-gun ships, Centurion’s first taste of action came on 8th December, 1776 when she assisted with the assault and capture of Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay, both places seen as vital to British interests. By July 1778 she was under Lord Howe’s command in the operations off the same stretch of coast and was part of the large fleet which narrowly missed clashing with a French fleet on 11th August and several succeeding days. Once France had joined the war in support of the colonists’ cause, much of the seaborne activity shifted to the immensely rich sugar islands of the West Indies, the scene of so many Anglo-French naval engagements during the second half of the 18th century. Beginning with the encounter between Rear-Admiral Barrington’s fleet and a French squadron off St. Lucia on 15th December, 1778, which resulted in the capture of that island 15 days later, Centurion thereafter played major roles in several actions and was even on hand to witness one of the last naval encounters of the war when H.M.S. Hussar engaged and captured the French frigate Sibylle off Cape Henry, Virginia, on 22nd January, 1783. Laid up for most of the following decade, Centurion was sent to the Indian Ocean early in 1794 after the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France and participated in several significant engagements across Eastern Waters during the final years of the old century, one of which brought her captain £15,000 in prize money. Her final action was undoubtedly her most spirited when, on 18th September, 1804, she was attacked by the French ‘74’ Marengo, together with two frigates mounting 76 guns between them, whilst lying in the Vizagapatam Roads [off the east coast of India] waiting to escort a merchant convoy to Madras. Despite the 3-to-1 odds stacked against her, Centurion put up a magnificent fight and, after a furious engagement lasting six hours, the French withdrew to lick their wounds leaving the convoy scattered but safe. Centurion herself was seriously damaged, however, which might explain the decision to hulk her for harbour duties in 1808, thus bringing what appeared to be a somewhat premature end to her seagoing career. Eventually finishing up at Halifax, Nova Scotia, she served as a hospital ship until she sank at her moorings on 21st February, 1824, after which she was raised and broken up.Condition report: Fine overall condition.
AFTER FRANCIS COATES (19TH CENTURY) Portrait of John Jervis, Earl of St.Vincent, circa 1769 Oil on canvas 49 x 39in. (124.5 x 99cm.) Provenance: John Jervis, The Earl St. Vincent (1735-1833), Meaford Hall (removed 1943 when Hall sold), and thence by descent. The source painting is located at the National Portrait Gallery, No. NPG2026Footnote: Admiral of the Fleet the Right Honourable Sir John Jervis, Earl of St. Vincent (1735-1823) was one of the most towering naval personalities of the 18th century and it was largely due to him that Nelson’s abilities were recognized and rewarded. Born in Meaford, Staffordshire, his parents moved to Greenwich when his father was appointed Solicitor to the Admiralty and Treasurer of Greenwich Hospital whilst John was still a child. His father wanted him to go into the Law, but John determined on a career at sea and, after much parental opposition, entered the navy on 4th January 1749 as an able seaman in the 50-gun 4th rate H.M.S. Gloucester. After seeing action in the Mediterranean and North America in the Seven Years’ War (1756-63), his promotion to Captain came in 1760. When he participated in the battle of Ushant in July 1778, he was in command of the 80-gun Foudroyant and went on to distinguish himself on several occasions during the later stages of the American War of Independence, most notably on all three of the expeditions to relieve Gibraltar. After the War, he entered politics, became an M.P. and married, and in 1787 was promoted rear-admiral. In the general promotion following the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France, he was made vice-admiral (1st February 1793) and his first wartime appointment was to command the fleet sent to secure Britain’s West Indian possessions. After initially capturing the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe in successful amphibious operations in cooperation with General Sir Charles Grey, Guadeloupe was quickly recaptured by the French and Jervis returned home with his reputation somewhat tarnished. Despite this temporary setback, he was nevertheless promoted to Admiral in June 1795 and was appointed to one of the most prestigious commands in the navy, namely the Mediterranean fleet. This was already a perilous time for Britain and, once Spain entered the war on the French side, the situation in the Mediterranean became graver still, to the extent that Jervis was soon forced to withdraw his fleet to the safety of the Tagus at Lisbon. From there, Jervis could monitor the Spanish fleet’s activities and it was from here that he emerged to confront the Spaniards off Cape St. Vincent in February 1797. In recognition of his great victory against such superior odds, he was elevated to the peerage as Earl of St. Vincent the following June. In the wake of Nelson’s daring at the recent battle, St. Vincent’s subsequent support for his protégé is well-documented, but it did sometimes cause friction with several of St. Vincent’s fellow flag officers. Moreover, as he grew older, St. Vincent’s temper often got the better of him and reached a point in 1800 when the King had to forbid all the infighting at the Admiralty. St. Vincent’s health was also rather indifferent at this time, but he was still given command of the Channel fleet and kept an exemplary blockade of Brest from May to September 1800. With the formation of a new government early in 1801, St. Vincent accepted the role of First Lord of the Admiralty, a position he held until another change of government forced him to resign in May 1804. After William Pitt’s death in January 1806, St. Vincent agreed to return to sea to command the Channel fleet, but his failing health and the collapse of the new administration led to his official retirement in March 1807. Occasionally seen in the House of Lords thereafter, he was created G.C.B. in January 1815 and finally appointed Admiral of the Fleet in July 1821. He died in March 1823, aged eighty-eight, and as he was childless, the earldom became extinct although his viscountcy devolved to his only surviving nephew, Edward Jervis Ricketts.Condition report: Needs to be cleaned, 2 holes, paint chipping, would benefit from a re-line.
A set of three pictures commissioned by John Jervis (1735-1823), later Earl St. Vincent, to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 14th February, 1797 ATTRIBUTED TO LT. WILLIAM ELLIOTT R.N. (CIRCA 1784) Commodore Nelson leading the boarding party up H.M.S. ‘Captain’s’ bowsprit to take the Spanish three-decker ‘San Nicolas’Oil on canvas Each -- 27¼ x 46½in. (69 x 118cm.) (3, a group) Provenance: John Jervis, The Earl St. Vincent (1735-1833), Meaford Hall (removed 1943 when Hall sold), and thence by descent.Footnote: Before battle was joined on St. Valentine’s Day 1797, Admiral Sir John Jervis, C. in C. Mediterranean fleet, turned to those with him on the flagship’s quarterdeck and said “A victory is very essential to England at the moment”, the truth of which was all too obvious to everyone who heard it. Despite some early successes, most notably the battle of the Glorious First of June (1794), the war with Revolutionary France and her allies was not going well for Great Britain as 1796 drew to a close. A Franco-Spanish expedition to Ireland was being prepared and the large, albeit undermanned, Spanish fleet had been ordered to join its French counterpart already making for Brest. The Spaniards, under Admiral de Cordova, put to sea from Cartagena with twenty-seven ships-of-the-line in company with twelve frigates, only to find Jervis lying in wait for them off Cape St. Vincent. On 13th February Jervis was joined by Commodore Nelson’s squadron and, the following day, Jervis brought the enemy to action in what proved a landmark victory despite the numerical superiority of Cordova’s fleet. On the morning of the battle, Cordova was hampered by hazy weather although Jervis knew exactly where they were thanks to Nelson’s accurate reporting of their position when he arrived the previous day. The Spanish were in three straggling lines whereas Jervis, sailing south, had put his ships into two tight columns. As the haze began to clear, Victory’s flag captain began to count the enemy ships as they emerged into view – 8, 20, 25, 27, at which Jervis interrupted him with a curt “Enough Sir, no more of that; the die is cast, and if there are 50 sail, I will go through them.” At about 11.30am. H.M.S. Culloden, Captain Thomas Troubridge, fired the opening shots of the day as he passed the windward division of the Spanish fleet and afterwards crashed through the enemy line. With the line breached, Jervis decided to concentrate his main attack on the enemy’s windward division of seventeen ships as Cordova had only placed nine to leeward. What was to prove a very complex action then began to play out during the afternoon, and the day ended with England having fully regained the initiative for the naval war at sea. Aided by Nelson’s tactical brilliance at a crucial moment in the battle, Jervis had decimated the Spanish fleet and forced what little remained of it to withdraw to Cadiz. Jervis’s flagship Victory, built at Chatham in 1765, emerged from the battle with her reputation as one of the finest fighting platforms in the fleet assured; Nelson had little more to do to immortalise her. Salvador del Mundo put up a tremendous fight in this action and initially surrendered to H.M.S. Excellent, 74, thanks to Captain Collingwood’s expert gunnery and rapid broadsides. However, when Excellent turned away to tackle her next target, Salvador del Mundo briefly raised her colours again until Victory’s broadside (seen above) forced her final surrender and subsequent capture as a prize. Nelson, recently promoted Commodore and given his own, albeit small, squadron, was flying his flag in the 74-gun H.M.S. Captain when he rendezvoused with Jervis in advance of the major engagement off Cape St. Vincent. On the morning of the battle, Jervis ordered his two columns of ships into a single line-of-battle, but the procedure proved painfully slow and, at a critical moment, Nelson realized that, unless he broke formation, the bulk of the Spanish fleet was liable to get away and run for Cadiz. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took H.M.S. Captain out of her station, closely followed by Collingwood in Excellent and Troubridge in Culloden, whereupon a furious action commenced at the head of the Spanish line. In the confusion, two enemy ships, the 80-gun San Nicolas and the 114-gun San Josef, collided with each other and Nelson seized his opportunity. Laying the already damaged Captain alongside the San Nicolas, he personally led the boarding party which, having captured her, crossed her decks and then took the even larger San Josef immediately afterwards. The men of the fleet dubbed the feat ‘Nelson’s patent bridge for boarding First Rates’, an accolade which delighted Nelson and cemented his growing bond with Jervis. It was, without doubt, a triumph of dash and daring, and although Nelson had technically broken his orders to achieve it, he emerged from the battle with his reputation made. Promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Blue and a Knighthood of the Bath followed swiftly, together with a recognition by the British public that they had discovered a new hero to win the war for them.Condition report: Windward Fleet: Relined c.1940’s; dirty varnish, needs to be cleaned; Under UV old overpaint, old restoration covering bitumen craquelure; scattered overpainting in sky, sails have scattered restoration, sea scattered retouching throughout, old masking varnish; Jervis’s Victory: Slight retouching in sky; retouching to sails; old craquelure, retouching throughout sea; Nelson Boarding: Scattered retouching throughout sky, smoke and sea, dirty varnish. All would benefit from and respond well to good restoration and cleaning.
CAPTAIN ROTHERAM'S SURVIVING COPY OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA DAMAGED IN HIS CABIN ABOARD COLLINGWOOD'S FLAGSHIP, H.M.S. ROYAL SOVEREIGN, AT THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR, 1805 Captain Rotheram’s own copy present in his cabin in Royal Sovereign where it received damage and scorching during the Battle of Trafalgar when “an enemy’s shot pass’d thro’ the shelf”: 'Encyclopædia Britannica; OR, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature. Vol XV..' (of 18), Third Edition, Edinburgh, 1797, 4to.,, frontispiece inscribed by Captain Rotheram stating that this book be Preserved as a relic of that memorable day with the persuasion that into whose ever hands it may fall that its value & respect may be held in estimation… -- 10 ½ x 8 ¾ in. (260mm x 220mm), later repairs and preserved in a mahogany display cabinet; together with “Edward Rotheram Esqr. Captain of His Majesty's Ship Royal Sovereign in the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of October 1805”, published by R.Pollard, 5 April 1806, engraving, framed, overall measurements -- 20 x 17½in. (51 x 44cm.) (3) Provenance: Captain Edward Rotheram (1753-1830) and thence by descent.Footnote: Captain Edward Rotheram, RN, the second son of Dr. John Rotheram of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was born in December 1753 and, having gained a practical knowledge of navigation in the Newcastle coal trade, entered the navy in 1777 as an able seaman in the Centaur. Remaining in her till April 1780, by the time he transferred into the Barfleur, he had attained the rank of master’s mate but was made temporary lieutenant when ordered to join the Monarch that October. Monarch was assigned to Sir Samuel Hood’s squadron in the Caribbean and Rotheram saw action in her at St Kitts (January 1782) and at Rodney’s victory at the Saintes (April 1782). Commissioned lieutenant in April 1783, he spent four years on half-pay until appointed first to the Bombay Castle in 1787 and then to the Culloden in which he served at the Glorious First of June, 1794. This led to his promotion as commander and, after serving on several stations, he was made post-captain in 1800. Paid off in 1802 for two years, he was next appointed to Dreadnought as Collingwood’s flag captain, following him into Royal Sovereign on 10th October 1805. To begin with Collingwood had a rather low opinion of Rotheram, whom said retained “…the stile [sic] of the Coal trade about him...” but his contempt soon dissolved after the courage Rotheram showed at Trafalgar. When the quarter-deck of Royal Sovereign was raked by enemy musket fire and Rotheram was urged to remove his epaulettes and gold-laced hat lest he be targeted by a sniper, he replied “Let me alone, I have always fought in a cocked hat and I always will”. After Trafalgar, he was given command of the Bellerophon, whose captain had been killed in the battle, but it proved his last command. Created C.B. in 1815, he was later appointed a captain of Greenwich Hospital but died of an apoplectic fit in November 1830.Condition report: water and smoke damage, spine lacking, boards detached
CHARLES HOWICK, SECOND EARL GREY (1764-1845), FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (1806): AUTOGRAPH LETTER, 29TH JULY 1806 which accompanied the small naval gold medal for Trafalgar awarded to Captain Rotheram: “His Majesty having been graciously pleased to order medals to be given to the Captains commanding Line of Battle Ships in the action of the 21st October 1805, as a mark of his royal approbation of so distinguished a Service”; two pages with draft of Rotheram’s reply Provenance: Captain Edward Rotheram (1753-1830) and thence by descent.Condition report: good condition, minor foxing on folds
A FINELY CONSTRUCTED 1:48 SCALE ADMIRALTY BOARD STYLE MODEL FOR A 38-GUN ARTOIS CLASS FRIGATE OF CIRCA 1793 modelled by J. Butler in boxwood with open frames below an ebonised main wale, planked and pinned with trennels over, chainplates with deadeyes, carved full-length female figurehead, glazed, decorative stern and quarter lights, cutaway bowsprit and masts, partially planked decks with gratings, stovepipe, belfry, companionways, capstan, double helm and deck lights, mounted on ebonised launching blocks with central cradle support on wooden display base with twin plates and wood-bound glazed cover, overall measurements – 20 x 51 x 17¼in. (51 x 129.5 x 44cm.)Footnote: When Revolutionary France declared war on England early in 1793, the French fleet was significantly smaller than that of the Royal Navy with the result that numerous new ships of all rates were hurriedly ordered from all the French naval dockyards. The Admiralty in London reacted equally swiftly and amongst the first orders to be placed was that for six new 38-gun frigates given the classification of ‘Artois’. Designed by Sir John Henslow, his plans were approved as early as 2nd March, 1793 and the keels of the initial six vessels were all laid down before the year was out (although a further three were ordered in 1795). Measured at 984 tons, each was to be 146 feet in length (overall) and 121½ feet (at the keel), with a 39 foot beam and a 14 foot draught. The main armament consisted of 28-18pdrs on the upper deck but there were also 2-9pdrs on the quarterdeck and fo’c’sle, plus some 32pdr carronades. Crewed by 270 (later 315) officers, men and boys, each of the first six frigates performed sterling services once at sea although three of them proved short-lived and were wrecked before the turn of the new century.Condition report: Fine overall condition
Ø AN IVORY BREEZE FAN COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF THE NILE, 1798 with 27 finely pierced sticks each with polychrome cartouche at centre with depiction of the battle, with the winged victory pyramids inscribed ‘Nelson First Aug 98’ and a lion framed within pseudo-Egyptian symbols, main stick with cut steel bordering, mounted within glazed fan case -- 12 x 19½in. (30.5 x 49.5cm.)Condition report: Top silk ribbon parted in one place, five or six small areas of loss to the pierced sections.
NELSON a wrapper inscribed 'Alexr Davison Esqr St James's Square London', written in Nelson's left hand, stamped Plymouth 220, with red seal, postmark dated Nov 1804, folded piece missing from upper margin with no loss -- 7½ x 9½in. (19 x 24cm.)Footnote: Alexander Davison (1750-1829) was a close friend of Nelson, who brought him business as a prize agent after the Battle of the Nile and the Battle of Copenhagen. Davison reciprocated by the creation of a medal commemorating the victory at the Battle of the Nile and the building of the Nelson Memorial at his estate at Swarland, Northumberland. He was imprisoned twice, first for attempting to bribe the voters in the rotten borough of Ilchester and for defrauding the government. Curiously the date of the envelope (or wrapper) coincides with Davison's first term of imprisonment (May 1804 for a year).
AN ATTRACTIVE EARLY 19TH CENTURY FRENCH, NAPOLEONIC PRISONER-OF-WAR, BONE SHIP MODEL FOR A FIRST-RATE SHIP OF THE LINE the 7in. hull, planked, pinned and pierced for brass guns with port lids, chainplates with deadeyes, finely carved warrior form figurehead and stern, plain deck with simple fittings, bound masts with yards, stuns’l booms in bone blocks with two open boats slung between main- and fore-mast, mounted on inlaid bone base with pierced railing with intermittent canons protruding, overall measurements -- 10½ x 10½in. (27 x 27cm.)Condition report: Fine overall condition, recently restored.
A LARGE TURNED MAHOGANY TABLE TOBACCO BOX, MADE FROM THE TIMBER OF H.M.S. GIBRALTAR (1749), CIRCA 1836 interior with a glazed manuscript label stating provenance -- 5½ x 2in. (14 x 5cm.)Footnote: Originally built for the Spanish Navy in Cuba in 1749, Gibraltar was captured by Admiral Rodney at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780 where, as Fenix, the ship had carried the flag of Admiral Langara. Renamed and taken into service, the ship subsequently saw action at the Glorious First of June before eventually being broken up in 1836.Condition report: good condition
'A COLLECTION OF THE PRINCIPAL FLAGS OF ALL NATIONS OF THE WORLD' Brightly & Childs, Bungay (Suffolk), 1813, containing 15 plates and featuring 238 hand-coloured flags, with index, the fly autographed James Lambert Walton 1824, original thin card covers (front detached), with old paper label on upper cover, good conditionFootnote: Despite being the very first popular flag reference available at relatively low cost, copies of this fascinating early guide are surprisingly rare.Condition report: Modest time staining commensurate with age, front cover detached
A FINE SAILOR'S WOOLWORK PICTURE, CIRCA 1860 depicting a three deck first-rate of the Royal Navy at anchor, dressed overall with funnel raised and crew on the yardarms, receiving an approaching dignitary -- 16 x 23in. (41 x 58.5cm.); contained within original maple frame – 23 x 30in. (58.5 x 76cm.)Condition report: Typical fading commensurate with age but generally fine condition throughout with no evidence of moth.
GAETANO D’ESPOSITO (ITALIAN, 1858-1911) H.M.S. ‘Orlando’, 1892 Watercolour and gouache Signed and dated ‘D’Esposito 1892’ (lower right) 14¾ x 20½in. (37.5 x 52cm.)Footnote: The name ship of the 1886 Orlando class of first-class cruisers, she was built by Palmers of Jarrow, registered 5,600 tonnes and could develop 17 knots. Commanded by Charles Ramsay Arbuthnot on the Australia station from 1992 to 1895, in 1899, she was assigned to the China Station under Captain James Henry Thomas Burke who died during a passage from Colombo to Aden. In 1902 she was placed in the B Division of the Fleet Reserve and sold for scrapping in 1905.Condition report: mild discolouration, possibly water damage, to edge of sky
A RARE AND HIGHLY ORIGINAL FIRST WORLD WAR CONVOY “ZIG-ZAG” CLOCK the 8in. painted dial with Roman numerals, black spade hands, subsidiary seconds above ‘VI’, slow/fast lever below ‘XII’, single winding arbour to 8-day going barrel movement contained within oxidised brass drum case with adjustable electrical contact ring to rim and electrical ports under, mounted within wooden case with glazed viewing port, battery compartment with maker’s label inscribed THE EXPRESS LIFT CO. LTD. LONDON AND LIVERPOOL with polished brass gong and activation switch mounted to top -- overall measurements – 25 x 11in. (63.5 x 28cm.); together with an original set of typewritten instructions (2)Condition report: in apparently unrestored condition, clock dial with old time-staining and paint chips, electrical silk wires degraded, instruction sheet browned, time-stained and fragile.
A WELL-PRESENTED SHIP'S BADGE FROM THE SLOOP H.M.S. MAGPIE, (1943) the 7in. badge cast in brass and mounted on a wooden shield with Plexiglas liner with reverse painted titles and honours list -- 13 x 11½in. (33 x 29cm.)Footnote: Latterly Magpie was Prince Philip's first and last Command before duties as the Queen's consort halted his career as a serving naval officer.Condition report: Good overall condition with typical marks commensurate with age.
THE LAUNCHING MALLET FOR THE ROYAL FLEET AUXILIARY FREIGHTER ‘BACCHUS’, 1936 finely turned in treen, the head with silver-plate inscribed ‘F.R.A. BACCHUS/LAUNCHED/AT DUNDEE/15.7.36/BY/ MRS W.J.GICK’ -- 12in. (30.5cm.)Footnote: Built by the Caledon SB, Dundee, she was used first on the Chatham-Gibraltar-Malta run taking naval supplies and a small number of passengers. With World War II breaking out she was given the water distillation unit from HMS Resolution and thereafter deployed as a stores ship. Attached to the British Pacific Fleet in 1945 she spent time at HMS Tamar in Hong Kong. A freighter from 1946, in 1956 she took part in Operation Musketeer, known to history as the Suez crisis. Sold in 1962 and renamed Pulau Bali, she was beached at Singapore in 1964 for breaking.Condition report: Fine overall condition
LEONARD JOHN PEARCE (BRITSH, CIRCA 1985) The training ship 'Marine Society’ (ex-'Beatty') heaving-to in the Thames in circa 1786 Oil on canvas Signed and dated ‘L.J. Pearce 1985’ (lower left) 19¾ x 29¾in. (50 x 75.5cm.) Provenance: The Marine Society & Sea CadetsFootnote: Founded in 1756 as the world’s first charity for seafarers, the Marine Society also prepared boys for a career at sea. To this end, it purchased the merchantman Beatty in 1786, converted her into a training ship and renamed her Marine Society. When not under sail, she was moored in the Thames between Deptford and Greenwich.Condition report: Good overall condition
AN INTERESTING BUILDER’S HALF-BLOCK MODEL FOR THE COMPOSITE TEA CLIPPER MAITLAND BUILT FOR JOHN KELSO BY WILLIAM PILE, SUNDERLAND, 1865 the 48in. hull carved from 1in. laminated pine and lined with bracing and plating marks numbered below gunwale, plain lacquered deck mounted on wooden display board with specification plate; overall measurements -- 12 x 58in. (30.5 x 147cm.) Provenance: Monkwearmouth Historical Society, deaccessioned 2017Footnote: Whilst the name of Maitland is much less familiar than those legendary clippers such as Ariel, Taiping and Thermopylae, she was nevertheless a notable vessel dating from the most exciting decade in the history of the China Tea Trade. With owners wanting ever faster ships to bring the new season’s tea home as speedily as technology would allow, Maitland was ordered by John Kelso of North Shields and built in William Pile’s yard at Sunderland. Despite Pile’s earlier success with the doughty Lammermuir of 1856, his yard was not renowned for turning out record-breakers; nevertheless much was expected from Maitland as she neared completion. Launched on 2nd December 1865, she was registered at 799 tons and measured 183 feet in length with a 35-foot beam. Of composite construction, her planks were laid upon iron frames and her considerable beam provided good stability for her large and lofty sail plan. This even included some highly unusual moonsails above her standing skysails, a feature that simply added to the thoroughbred appearance. Credited with a speed of 15 knots in 1869, Captain Coulson - her first master - even claimed a burst of 17 knots on her maiden passage, but these figures were to prove the exception rather than the rule. However, she still made Hong Kong 87 days out of Sunderland on that first outward run and this resulted in a prime cargo at Foochow when the local shippers heard of it. She returned home in a speedy 104 days, fast but not remarkable, and this was to become characteristic of her performance thereafter. She survived the potentially fatal striking of the Ariadne Rock when leaving Woosung late in 1868 only by beaching herself in the nick of time with five feet of water in her hull. Repaired at Shanghai, she was back in service the following year during which she claimed a record dash of 22½ hours from Sunderland to the Downs at the start of her outward passage, returning home in a creditable 102 days against Thermopylae’s cracking 91 days, Foochow to London. Short-lived, like so many of her contemporaries, she was wrecked on a coral reef in the Huon Islands, north of New Caledonia, on 25th May 1874 whilst on passage from Brisbane to China.Condition report: fine overall condition, display board and plate later
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