Martyn Downer: Nelson's Purse

The continuing success of the television programme Antiques Roadshow is testament to the fascination of old objects, however humble. The thought that they may be worth large amounts of money gives that interest added spice.

In this book Martyn Downer describes what must be one of the most extraordinary examples of this winning combination. As the head of jewellery at the London auctioneers Sotheby's he was conducting routine evaluations when he was offered an object that was to lead him to the discovery of a lifetime. And at the end of the process he presided over the sale of the treasure trove that netted more than £2,130,000 ($5,695,500).

The relics were the remnants of a collection of memorabilia of Horatio Nelson, England's greatest naval hero, amassed by Alexander Davison, an almost forgotten business associate and friend of Nelson.

For 200 years they had been in the keeping of Davison's descendants and lost to public view. When Downer examined them in 2002 he discovered a collection that included more than 70 unknown letters from Nelson's wife Fanny, correspondence with his mistress Lady Hamilton and, perhaps most poignantly, the purse that Nelson was wearing when he was fatally wounded at the moment of victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Inside the purse was a note by Davison written in 1805 and apparently never since touched.

In between the discovery and the sale, Downer traces the history of Nelson and his wife and of Davison, who proves worthy of biographical treatment in his own right.

He became one of the richest men of his time, amassing a fabulous fortune through government contracts, and was a friend of Nelson's throughout his life, basking in reflected glory as Nelson's fame grew.

He was involved in the most intimate of Nelson's dealings and the heart-breaking letters to Davison from the neglected Fanny cast a cruel light on the naval paragon.

Davison was not slow to take advantage of the friendship but his commitment was genuine and costly. His own success did not long survive Nelson. He had had one taste of jail while Nelson was alive as a result of some blatant electoral corruption, a chronicle of intrigue that makes today's political skulduggery seem a trifling affair.

But his business dealings eventually brought him low, sent him back to jail and forced the disposal of most his property, including his Nelson collection.

What is remarkable is that the handful of items that remained in the family should have slid from consciousness only to re-emerge to stun Downer and a market more willing than ever to pay huge sums for Nelson memorabilia.

Downer weaves the themes of the objects and the lives that touched them with considerable skill. Some passages are of more interest to antiquarians than to the ordinary reader but the whole is an absorbing example of bringing some new glimpses of history to life.


* John Gardner is editor of Weekend Review

* Random House, $65