Rare Nelson letter under the hammer in Shrewsbury
A rare letter written by Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson with his left hand as he recuperated after losing his right arm in battle will go under the hammer in Shrewsbury later this month.
The letter, which is expected to fetch £4,000, was written as the future naval hero recovered from the terrible injury he suffered in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797.
Dated January 29, 1798, and written in a shaky script in black ink on tracing paper, the letter was addressed to Thomas Lloyd Esquire, a descendant of the Lloyds family, of Welshpool.
It is to be sold as part of Halls' auction of fine furniture, European ceramics and works of art on February 26.
Aaron Dean, Halls' books specialist, said the letter gave a fascinating glimpse of Admiral Lord Nelson's state of mind between the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and his next command in the build up to the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where he was shot and killed while leading the Royal Navy to his most famous victory.
"This is a great part of British history," said Mr Dean. "The letter was written in Nelson's left hand while he was recuperating in Bath from losing his arm.
"An inflammatory ligature impeded his recovery. However, this eventually came out naturally and the letter reveals he is pushing for his next command with the Royal Navy. His persistence paid off and he was given command of the 74-gun HMS Vanguard. HMS Boadicea, referred to in the letter, was a Royal Navy frigate serving in the channel and East Indies."
The letter, addressed to Thomas Lloyd Esq, No: 15 Mary's Buildings, St Martins Lane, London, is part of a consignment from descendants of the Lloyd family of Dolobran, Pontrobert, near Welshpool. They were prominent Quakers, iron merchants and ,later, founder partners of Taylors and Lloyds bank, now Lloyds TSB.
The letter was discovered by one of Thomas Lloyd's descendants in 1911. It is one of the star exhibits at the sale on behalf of the Lloyd family, which also includes letters written by Robert Southey (1774-1843), poet laureate from 1813-1843 and social reformer Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845).
These letters are expected to fetch about £150 each.
Southey's letter is dated June 17, 1820, and asks Charles Lloyd if he could put up his elderly aunt for a night when she arrives in London by stagecoach.
A romantic poet, Southey was also a literary scholar and biographer.
He wrote a biography of Horatio Nelson in 1813 and also the original Goldilocks story, 'The Three Bears'. Fry's handwritten and signed thank you letter, with the original envelope dated Plaistow, September 2, 1842, is to Francis Lloyd.
Fry was an English prison reformer, social reformer, Quaker and Christian philanthropist.
Her face currently features on the reverse of £5 notes.
Also included in the auction, with an estimate of up to £3,000, is a rare botanical book by Crispin van de Passe in five parts, which bears the book plate armorial for Henry Lloyd, Dolobran.
