The Life Of The Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson: Baron Nelson Of The Nile, And Of Burnham-Thorpe And Hilborough In The County Of Norfolk; Knight Of The Most Honourable Military Order Of The Bath; Doctor Of Laws In The University Of Oxford; Vice-Admiral Of The White Squadron Of His Majesty’s Fleet; Duke Of Bronte, In Farther Sicily; Grand Cross Of The Order Of St. Ferdinand And Of Merit; Knight Of The Imperial Order Of The Ottoman Crescent; Knight Grand Commander Of The Equestrian, Secular, And Capitular, Order Of St. Joachim Of Westerburg; And Honorary Grandee Of Spain. By Mr. Harrison. In Two Volumes. Lord Viscount Nelson’s transcendent and heroic services will, I am persuaded, exist for ever in the recollection of my people; and, while they tend to stimulate those who come after him, they will prove a lasting source of strength, security, and glory, to my dominions. The King’s Answer to the City of London’s Address on the Battle of Trafalgar. London: Printed, at the Ranelagh Press, By Stanhope And Tilling; For C. Chapple, Pall Mall, And Southampton Row. 1806.
This is the first edition of Harrison’s Life of Nelson, in a fine binding by Kelly And Sons,
with five raised bands, gilt titles, six gilt-ruled compartments and “Extra Illustrated” on the spine, double-gilt fillets on blue morocco, gilt fillet borders on marbled endpapers, an engraved frontis portrait of Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B. published in 1806 by C. Chapple, a dedication page to the King from James Harrison, an Advertisement thanking people for helping him in writing this work, followed by a four-page Preface and 392 pages of text in Volume I and 512 pages of text in Volume II. The frontis portrait of Nelson at the beginning of Volume II was done by S. Freeman from a painting by Abbot, there are
110 engraved portraits and coastal scenes of places visited by Lord Nelson, and all the edges are gilt. According to Lowndes & Alibone, this biography was also written with the aid of Lady Hamilton and custom bound, a unique set, according to a note found in the front endpapers of Volume I, and we’ve learned that James Harrison spent many months with the friends and relatives of Lord Nelson collecting anecdotes, letters and doing interviews about this famous British hero. Harrison’s two-volume biography is the most comprehensive work on Lord Nelson.
The firm of Kelly & Sons was founded by John Kelly in 1770 near the Strand in London, but the shop was later moved to larger premises on Water-street. They crafted full-leather bindings throughout the nineteenth century and expanded to cloth bindings as time went on.
The bindings are 8 Vo. and 9 5/16 x 6 1/8 in. wide and tight and secure, there are a few brown spots on the title page, the dedication page, and the first page of advertisements in Volume I, the rest of the text and plates are very clean, and there is just light rubbing at the edges of the spines and the tips.
According to WorldCat, there is only one listing for this set by the Ranelagh Press in Special Collections around the world, at Yale University. All the other listings are modern reprints or online copies, so this is clearly a rare first edition of the life of Lord Nelson, one of the most brilliant figures in British naval history.