A Framed section of Sail Canvas 35x21cm(13.7x8.3in)
£8,000 - £12,000
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Footnotes
HMS Victory's topsail is the only one of her sails to have survived to the present day. Originally put on display, it is known to have been on HMS Victory at the time of the 1905 Centennary, but is believed to have been removed from the ship around 1934/5.It was discovered many years later lying beneath gymnasium mats in HMS Nelson at Portsmouth. It was returned to the ship in 1967 and was on display on the Orlop Deck. After conservation in 1993, it was displayed for the first time to the public at the International Festival of the Sea at Portsmouth, complete with shot and bullet holes from the battle. During its chequered career after Trafalgar, there were many opportunities for souvenir hunters to cut scraps away and it is possible that some were also taken semi-officially for recruiting purposes.
There is a fragment preserved at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, which bears a strong similarity to this piece, and included in the sale is a letter from the Assistant Keeper of Antiquities to that effect and their opinion that this is likely to be from Victory's topsail.
From the Ship Inn, London Docklands, demolished 30 years ago and thence to the vendor.