Horatio Nelson PSA NM 7 Signed & Endorsed Wrapper

A transmittal wrapper entirely engrossed by British Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), as, "His Excellency / Jackson Esqr: / His Majesty's Minister / at Paris," and signed by Nelson as, "Nelson + Bronte" at lower left. (Nelson signed his name incorporating part of the honorific title, the Duke of Bronté, bestowed upon him by the Kingdom of Sicily in 1799.) Encapsulated and PSA/DNA graded NM 7. N.d., n.p., but we know that the wrapper once contained a letter written at Merton Place, in Merton, Surrey, England, Nelson's home south of London, on June 5, 1802. Expected wear including paper folds, isolated weathering to the edges, and a former collector's partially erased pencil inscriptions, else near fine. The wrapper measures 4.675" x 3.375" while the slab measures 7.25" x 4.25." Ex-Matcham Family; ex-Sotheby's Trafalgar Sale, October 5, 2005.

In the June 5, 1802 letter originally contained in this wrapper--no longer present--Nelson had requested that Francis James Jackson (1770-1814), the Minister Plenipotentiary ad interim at Paris, look out for Nelson's brother-in-law George Matcham (1753-1833), who was soon intending on traveling through Europe. This Horatio Nelson endorsed and signed envelope is accompanied by a photocopy of this original letter, again not included in the lot, but attached just for reference.

Admiral Nelson endorsed this wrapper during a two-year-long period of leave in England, 1801-1803. Flushed with success following the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801, and created a Viscount in May and a Baron in August, Nelson returned to England to oversee its defense against possible French invasion. Nelson purchased a 160-acre estate called Merton Place in the autumn of 1801; he would live at "dear, dear Merton" until the spring of 1803, and briefly in 1805 before his death at the Battle of Trafalgar that October. The summer of 1802, he traveled through England and Wales with his mistress Emma Hamilton and her husband Sir William Hamilton.

Nelson's correspondent Francis James Jackson (1770-1814) was a career diplomat, serving in Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Denmark, the Ottoman Empire, and the United States between the 1780s and the 1810s. In 1802, Jackson was the Minister Plenipotentiary ad interim at Paris.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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