Broadley, Alexander Meyrick, and Bartelot, R.G

8vo, first edition, the author's copy extended to four volumes, folio (490 x 330mm) each with additional title page, lavishly extra-illustrated with nearly 900 items including c.200 letters and documents (described in more detail below), mostly by British naval figures from the age of Nelson, including three letters by Nelson, but also including earlier letters and also letters written to Broadley relating to his research and publication of the book and a series of letters and press cuttings relating to the 1906 sale of Nelson's draft Trafalgar Memorandum; an original ink and wash drawing of the death of Nelson, attributed on the verso to Isaac Cruickshank; c.80 contemporary caricatures, late 18th-early 19th, most hand-coloured, including six by Gillray, four by Rowlandson, two by H. Humphrey, eight by Woodward, three by I. Cruickshank, and two by G. Cruickshank, predominantly concerned with naval affairs, and more than 460 other prints, including mezzotint portraits of Nelson, Collingwood, Alexander Davison, and others, many other portraits, naval scenes, harbour views (including an aquatint view of St George's, Bermuda, engraved by I.C. Stadler), illustrations of Dorsetshire interest, and others, also two early printed maps, John Speed, Britain as it was … in the tyme of the Englishe-Saxons [The Heptarchy], ?1627, and Christopher Saxton, Dorcestriae, 1579, contemporary colour, with c.140 other items including a copy of Blake, Robert, and Monke, George, A True Relation of the late Great Sea Fight [the Battle of the Gabbard]. Henry Hills, 1653 [Wing B3138], three different chapbooks each entitled A Garland of New Songs, Newcastle: J. Marshall, n.d. with songs on the Battle of the Nile, and other contemporary ephemera, pamphlets, broadsheets, press cuttings, photographs, and other printed matter, half blue morocco gilt, Volume 2 with four loose plates, Volume 3 with one loose leaf, Volume 4 with five leaves loose and 19 items loose at the end, bindings rubbed at joints



The more significant letters and documents include:
Horatio, Lord Nelson, three autograph letters signed: (1) with his right hand, to his Excellency Francis Drake, minister at Genoa, explaining that he has been unable to land and sending an officer, 2 pages, 4to, HMS Agamemnon, off Genoa, 1 December 1795; (2) with his right hand, to Thomas Pollard, on the movements of the French (“…I am now protecting you from an intended embarkation of French Troops…”), HMS Agamemnon, off Genoa, 1 April 1796; (3) with his left hand (signed “Bronte Nelson of the Nile”), to Edmund Noble, 2 pages, 4to, Palermo, 2 June 1800; also Frances Nelson, autograph letter signed to her husband, a poignant letter written after Nelson had begun his affair with Emma Hamilton and had stopped writing to his wife, hoping for news of him, and with family news (“…Our good father received a letter yesterday from your Brother William tizing [sic] about no dignitaries for the Nelson family…”), 3 pages, 4to, St James’ Street, 10 December 1799, docketed by Davison
Autograph letters by Admirals and other naval figures from the age of Nelson, including: Thomas Masterman Hardy, 9 letters; Viscount Hood, 3 letters, 1785-1807, including one on affairs in Corsica during Paoli’s rebellion describing the Corsicans as a “strange wild race of people”, 4 pages, 4to, HMS Victory, Leghorn Road, 9 September 1794, fold tears; Sir Robert Calder, to William Wood, returning with a convoy from the West Indies, 3 pages, 4to, HMS Theseus in the Downs, 20 July 1795; Edward Berry, autograph letter signed, reassuring his family of his safety and reporting that “Lord Nelson is quite well”, 1 page, 4to, HMS Foudroyant, Port Mahon, 18 October 1799; Richard Keats, to Admiral Berkeley, on naval victories and the Peninsular Campaign, 5 pages, 4to, Cadiz, 25 May 1811; T. Hand, on the mutinies of 1797 (“…a pardon was yesterday read to the crews of the Repulse & Ardent. I hope it will not be too general as nothing but hanging the ringleaders will break the neck of Mutiny…”), 2 pages, folio, Sheerness, 1 June 1797; J. Eilleack, autograph letter signed to his mother, with his eyewitness account of the Battle of the Nile (“…the commander of the French fleet Blew up about 12 o’clock att [sic] night and a shocking sight it was to see the number of souls that was lying upon her wreck just before she blew up…”), 2 pages, folio, HMS Franklin, Lisbon, 29 October 1798; William Donnett, 2 letters; Viscount Keith, to Sir William Hamilton, 1800; James Bremer, to Nelson, offering congratulations, and mentioning the death of Sir William Hamilton, docketed by Nelson, 22 May 1803; Admiral Howe, to Col. Smith, Philadelphia, 10 May 1778, stained; Cuthbert Collingwood; Skeffington Lutwidge; Lord Northesk; Alexander Cochrane; Admiral Caracciola, 1791; the Duke of Gravina
Collection of 15 signatures of Nelson’s “Band of Brothers” from the Battle of the Nile: Sir Davidge Gould, Alexander Ball, Benjamin Hallowell, Henry d'Esterre Darby, Thomas Thompson, John Peyton, Samuel Hood, Thomas Foley, James de Saumarez, Thomas Louis, Thomas Troubridge, Ralph Miller, George Westcott (written to his sister after the Glorious First of June, “…I neither asked for Life or any thing, but fortitude to do my duty to King & Country in the high & awful station I felt myself in…”) (the two missing captains, Hardy and Berry, are both found elsewhere in the volumes), as well as the signatures of Honeré Ganteaume, rear-admiral of L’Orient, and Edward Kirby, Master of the Bellerophon
Collection of 12 signatures of Captains at the Battle of Copenhagen: William Bolton, William Bligh (document signed, 1798), James Brisbane, John Ferris Devonshire, John Lawford, Graham Eden Hamond, Edward Riou, James Robert Mosse, George Murray, Thomas Graves, Samuel Sutton, Thomas Foley (lacking 8 captains)
Collection of 41 signatures of Captains and others at the Battle of Trafalgar, including: Henry Bayntun, Henry Blackwood, Edward Codrington, Thomas Capel, Sir Cuthbert Collingwood, John Cooke, John Conn, Thomas Dundas, Philip Durham, George Duff, Thomas Fremantle, Richard Grindall, Eliab Harvey, William Hargood, George Hope, Francis Laforey, Charles Mansfield, Robert Moorsom, James Morris, the Earl of Northesk, Israel Pellew, John Pilford, William Prowse, Robert Redmill, Edward Rotherham, William Rutherford, John Stockham, Charles Tyler, Robert Benjamin Young, Sir William Beatty (surgeon on the Victory), Admiral Hotham, J.R. Lapenotière (commander of the Pickle schooner, carried despatches to England), James Pascoe (Signal Lieutenant on the Victory), John Pollard (Midshipman on the Victory who shot the man who shot Nelson), and Rev. Scott (Chaplain on the Victory), with two further signatures, Charles Bullen and Henry Digby, inserted later in Volume 4, and two others, T.M. Hardy and Edward Berry, found elsewhere, the collection of Captains lacks only Richard King; also the signatures of Sir Richard Strachan and seven others who took part in the Battle of Cape Ortegal
Autograph letters by other contemporaries of Nelson: George IV, as Prince Regent, to Erskine, 25 April 1815; William IV, two items as Duke of Clarence, including an important document signed giving directions to the Fleet on the occasion of the visit to Britain of Allied Sovereigns, 9 pages, folio, 27 May 1814; Jonathan de Burgh, autograph letter signed, to Sir William Hamilton, on military and political news in Italy, especially Rome, 3 pages, folio, Porta Fenaja, 17 February 1797; William Hamilton, document signed, 1799; Charles Frederick, King of Naples; Caroline, Queen of Naples; Thomas Graham, Lord Lydenoch, on naval affairs, 1800; L.A.F. de Bourrienne, document signed
Other historic documents and letters, including by: Robert Blake, document signed, appointing Captain Richard Lyons as commander of the Taunton, also signed by Edward Hopkins and John Clerke, 1 page, 2 January 1655; Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham, document signed, summary naval expenses, June 1618; Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Winchester, 3 pages, 18 May 1739; John Flamsteed, document signed; letters by ancestors of T.M. Hardy including Thomas Hardy (1 page, 6 January 1707) and Charles Hardy (1 page, 5 July 1779); five court rolls for the Manor of Portesham, historic home of the Hardy family, five vellum membranes, 1565-70

A.M. Broadley (bookplates); the sale of his library, Part 2, Hodgson's, 7 December 1916, lot 225, £125; Hugh Selbourne, MD (bookstamps), probably acquired from Sherratt and Hughes, booksellers, of Manchester

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, as appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A remarkable collection of Nelsoniana, including not only an exhaustive collection of letters and documents signed by the major figures of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era, but also an extensive pictorial record of Nelson and his time as represented both through formal portraiture and through caricature. The wealth of material in this unique collection provides a deep insight into the world of the Royal Navy at the zenith of its power.  

These extraordinary volumes were assembled by Alexander Meyrick Broadley (1847-1916), who had been a successful lawyer working in North Africa (representing, among others, the Bey of Tunis and Arabi Pacha) before retiring to Dorset and devoting the last fifteen years of his life to writing and collecting. Napoleon and his age were at the heart of his collection and a printed catalogue, Collectanea Napoleonica, was published in 1905 (shortly before the current volumes were assembled). He was an enthusiastic grangeriser: his library included 135 grangerised works, amounting to about 600 volumes. In addition to the current volumes these included a copy of Clarke and M'Arthur's Life of Nelson extended to eight volumes, and, probably the greatest gem of Broadley's library, Rose's Life of Napoleon extended to an astounding 28 volumes. These latter items were both purchased by the Earl of Curzon at the sale of Broadley's library, and were subsequently bequeathed to the Bodleian.

For related letters by Thomas Hardy to Broadley see lot 89.