NELSON & THE BATTLE OF THE NILE, 1798

a commemorative paper fan titled Glorious Victory of the Nile, 1st August 1798, the vane printed in monochrome with central portrait of Nelson surrounded by flags and trophies, and flanked by two large ovals containing patriotic verse, top edge bound with silvered paper (tarnished) and with bone lower sticks, some old repairs to the vane but nevertheless a very rare survival, extreme width -- 17½in. (44.5cm.)

Literature: Nelson, An Illustrated History, National Maritime Museum, 1995, p.95, illustrated.

All fans which commemorate the British naval victories of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars are considered rare and most of the few examples recorded celebrate Nelson’s final and greatest triumph at Trafalgar. Those for his other victories, including the Nile, are even rarer.