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Lot 45

"prompted by every feeling of veneration for the memory of Lord Nelson"
Nelson, St Vincent and Horatio Suckling

Nelson and the Royal Navy
18 October 2005, 14:00 BST
Oxford

£600 - £900

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"prompted by every feeling of veneration for the memory of Lord Nelson"
Nelson, St Vincent and Horatio Suckling

Group of letters addressed or forwarded to Colonel and Mrs Suckling, pertaining to the naval career of their son Horace Suckling, including autograph letters signed by Admiral Earl St Vincent ("...I am prompted by every feeling of veneration for the memory of Lord Nelson, and the kindness I received from his brave Relation Maurice Suckling with whom I was Shipmate seventy years ago in the Gloucester, under the broad Pendant of Comodore George Townshend to render every Service in my power to your Son... I have inclos'd your Letter to Sir George Cockburn, and requested of him to lay it before Lord Melville, and he who was closely attach'd to Lord Nelson during his Life..."), 3 May 1818; Admiral Sir George Cockburn, promising to support St Vincent's application, 12 May 1818; Sir Andrew Snape Hammond, former Comptroller of the Navy ("...Be assured Mrs Suckling that if I had weight & Interest sufficient to obtain for your son the Rank of Commander, I have so great a veneration for the Memory of that great Man Lord Nelson that he should not be a month without his promotion. I am well acquainted with the connection & the affection he had for your son, and that he is the only relative he left in the navy...tell your story fairly to Mr Yorke, let him know how your son came into the navy, what his prospects were from Lord Nelson if he had lived, and beseech him to take him under his protection..."), 6 November 1811; plus letters by Sir Henry Torrens of the Horse Guards, to the Duke of Kent, etc., relating to the military career of Horatio Suckling's younger brother, born 1806, ten letters in all, some wear and staining, the St Vincent letter spotted, 1810-1830

Footnotes

The naval fortunes of Nelson's cousin and godson. Horatio or Horace Suckling (born 1803) was the grandson of Nelson's maternal uncle William Suckling, and lineal representative of William's brother Captain Maurice Suckling, Nelson's patron, who himself died without issue (Colonel Suckling being William's illegitimate son). Horatio was christened during the twenty-five days Nelson spent ashore before Trafalgar, with Nelson himself standing as godfather and Emma as godmother, the introduction being performed by the Duke of Clarence (William IV). The christening had been postponed for two years, so that the principal sponsor could be there in person (Carola Oman, Nelson, 1947, p.598). But, as these letters demonstrate, such distinguished sponsorship did not guarantee the boy's naval advancement in later life. In fact, the only person who did really well out of Nelson's death was his brother, the first Earl Nelson, "of whom it is impossible to speak too contemptuously" (Edgar Vincent). The letter by Sir Andrew Hammond in the present collection reinforces this view: "But pray," Hammond asks Mrs Suckling, "why does not the present Peer take him by the hand & sollicit promotion for this only relation he has in the Navy? I remember mentioning it to him a year or two ago, and he then objected doing any thing by reason of Lord Musgrave & him not being upon good terms. As a man of Rank, having such a connection & under such circumstances as the Young Man was in, with regard to his deceased Brother, from whom he derives his Honor's: It is a duty he ought to perform".

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ARCHITECTURE - ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL Manuscript planning brief for work under the supervision of Inigo Jones, [c.1631]
ADVERTISING POSTERfor 'The Suffragette' newspaper, [c.1913-1914]
ARCHITECTURE - STUART (JAMES) AND NICHOLAS REVETT The Antiquities of Athens, 4 vol. bound in 2, 1825-1830
ILLUMINATED ADDRESS – CLARA CODD Illuminated printed address signed by Emmeline Pankhurst, [1909]
ARMENIAN - HISTORY, THEOLOGY AND PRINTING. Group of books/a map in Armenian, c.1825-1901 (12)
MUSIC & RECORDINGS – ETHEL SMYTH Collection of printed music, song sheets and records, [c.1911-1912]
BANK NOTES - MANUFACTURING BRADBURY (HENRY) On the Security and Manufacture of Bank Notes, FIRST EDITION, Bradbury and Evans, 1856