Christopher Clarke Antiques

Glass Pictures of Nelson Funeral

This pair of transfer printed on glass pictures by WB Walker are entitled 'A Correct Representation of the Funeral Barge which conveyed the Body of the Late Lord Nelson from Greenwich to Whitehall Jany. 8th. 1806' and ‘A Correct Representation of the Funeral Car which conveyed the Body of Lord Nelson from the Admiralty to St Paul's Jany. 9th, 1806’, respectively. Nelson had been preserved in brandy at Trafalgar and returned to Britain on the Victory after she had been repaired at Gibraltar. Attempts to bring him home on another more sea worthy ship nearly caused a mutiny on his flag ship. Nelson lay in state at Greenwich in the Painted Hall where 30,000 came to pay their respects and from there on the 8th of January 1806 his body was taken up the Thames to Whitehall to lay in the Admiralty overnight. The barge that conveyed him on this journey is portrayed in the first picture and is shown with Nelson’s coat of arms, the Royal Standard and the white ensign flying. The second shows the ship shaped funeral car that took Nelson on the next day to St. Paul’s. The car is decorated with hangings noting Trafalgar, L’Orient and San Josef between Nelson’s marital arms. The canopy is inscribed Trafalgar Palham Qui Meruit Ferat. Nelson was granted a state funeral, which was unprecedented for someone not of royal blood and the streets were lined to St. Paul’s. There are 70 known glass pictures of Nelson and the majority of them were published within 6 months of his death. These pictures were published less than two months after the funeral by WB Walker of Fox & Knot Court,4, Snow Hill, London, England on 1 February and 1 March 1806 respectively. In there original ebonized frames.

Size of each, framed is given. H 12 1/4 W 16