Reverse glass mezzotint, "Admiral Lord Nelson the Hero of the Nile ..

1806. (NELSON, HORATIO, VISCOUNT NELSON). Reverse glass mezzotint, Admiral Lord Nelson the Hero of the Nile ... Falling into the Arms of Victory in the ever memorable Engagement with the combined Fleets of France and Spain off Trafalgar, on the 21 Octr. 1805. London: Waller, Fox & Wood, 1806. Colored engraving, transferred to glass. 10 x 14 in. (sight), in a contemporary frame possibly made from the wood of a ship from the battle. Partial loss of publisher's imprint at bottom, else very good. Issued the year following Nelson's heroic death at the Battle (truncated) of Trafalgar, the print depicts Nelson--weak but ever elegant--being supported by one allegorical figure of Victory while another holds a hero's wreath over his head. To the side is the badly damaged Santisima Trinidad sinking before other British and French ships. Nelson memorial objects were occasionally made from or with wood taken from a Nelson ship, and this period frame certainly appears to be made from repurposed wood. (Inventory #: 13535)