Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805) - photo 1
Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805) - photo 2
Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805) - photo 3

Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)

Lot 53
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 5 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1249839
Lot 53 | Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
Estimate value
£ 5 000 – 8 000
Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
Autograph letter signed (‘Horatio Nelson’), with his right hand, to William Suckling, HMS Agamemnon, Leghorn [i.e. Livorno], 31 October 1794
Two pages, 247 x 190mm, integral address leaf. Provenance: Stan V. Henkels auction, Philadelphia, 9 July 1923, lot 161; Walter R. Benjamin Autographs, 21 December 1963 (accompanying note of authenticity).

Nelson on the threat from the French fleet at Toulon, and the ‘burden’ of Britain’s continental allies. Having just been ‘drove back to this port last night by a gale of wind’, Nelson expresses his gratitude for Suckling and his family’s kindness towards his wife Frances (Fanny) Nelson. He goes on ‘I shall only tell you what may not be believed in England that the French have put together a fleet at Toulon which could hardly be credited although many [of] them are old, yet they have fitted them [well] enough for an action if it should be [ne]cessary … we don’t seem to make much of this War, our Allies are our burden, had we left the Continent to themselves we should have done well and at half the expense’. He ends the letter with a list of the French vessels at Toulon with their guns.

Nelson’s gratitude for Suckling’s care for his wife comes after Nelson’s health, following his eye injury during the siege of Calvi, had caused her increasing worry: she was also unaccustomed to his extended absence, as he had been (reluctantly) unemployed on shore and therefore living together with her in Norfolk for much of the first six years of their married life until war broke out at the beginning of 1793. After Nelson’s close involvement with the capture of Corsica that summer, the ‘Agamemnon spent the winter cruising between Leghorn, Genoa, and Corsica or blockading the coast of Provence, refitting as necessary at Leghorn, where Nelson took comfort with a local mistress and occasionally brought her to sea with him’ (ODNB). William Suckling (1720-1798) was Nelson’s maternal uncle and brother of the British Naval Officer Captain Maurice Suckling (1726-1778), who launched Nelson’s career.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.07.2024 – 10.07.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
£15 000
Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
£4 000
Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805)
£3 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.