Sotheby’s is honoured to present the greatest collection of letters, documents and manuscripts relating to Horatio Nelson to be assembled in modern times. The collection comprises some 415 listed items, including more than 200 letters and documents by Nelson himself and 73 letters by Emma Hamilton. There are eyewitness accounts of battles and personal announcements of historic victories; insights into Nelson’s complex character and public persona; letters that reveal his personal struggles and endurance, such as his painful efforts at relearning to write after the loss of his right arm in battle; revelations of his most personal emotions, especially when expressing the depth of his longing for his lover Emma Hamilton; and rich correspondence of those closest to Britain’s greatest naval hero. The Richards collection is even more powerful when considered as a whole: it provides an extraordinarily rich and complex portrait of one of the most compelling figures in British history, whose extraordinary life has inspired generations and whose mastery of naval warfare played an outsize role in shaping Britain’s place in the world for a century.

This collection was assembled by Clive Richards, CBE (1937-2021) over a period of some forty years of dedicated collecting.

The collection will be offered for sale as a single lot under our bespoke Sotheby’s Sealed auction process. Bidding will open on 21 October and the auction will close on 18 November. For more information on Sotheby’s Sealed, please see the relevant section on our page “How Bidding Works”.

For assistance with bidding and registration, please contact:

Bids.london@sothebys.com

(+44) 207 293 5283 (bids general line)

For sale enquiries please contact:

Dr Gabriel Heaton

Director

GABRIEL.HEATON@SOTHEBYS.COM

+44 (0)2072935670