Maritime Archive and Library

Age of Nelson

Archive display 30 September 2005 to 13 January 2006

As part of the Trafalgar Festival in 2005, the Maritime Archives and Library at Merseyside Maritime Museum commemorated the life and death of Admiral Lord Nelson with a small display of archive material from his time, an important age for Liverpool's and Britain's maritime history.

The display included items that relate to Nelson himself and to his famous vessel HMS Victory, such as a paper and cloth cut out figure of the naval hero from c1800.

These were supported by archive material demonstrating the mood of the time and pressures of the Napoleonic Wars, offering an insight into significant elements of Liverpool maritime history during this period.

Items on display illustrated the history of British involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, the exploration of new worlds and civilisations, as well as the rapid development of Liverpool as the city became a port at the forefront of world commerce. These included:

• an account of the Pelew Islands in the Western Pacific from the journal of Captain Wilson of the Antelope, who was shipwrecked there in August 1783
• newspaper articles, including a reprint of The Times from Thursday November 7 1805, reporting the victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson
• a trade list demonstrating the variety of goods from around the world traded through Liverpool in the early nineteenth century
• a voyage account of the slave ship Sally, recording the deaths of seven slaves during the journey from West Africa in 1806

Due to the fragile nature of these items they are not on permanent display in the museum. However, you can see some of the main items from the display using the links below.

• Diary and sketch book of Lieutenant Samuel Walters, Royal Navy
• Medical Certificate of Thomas Holding
• Paper and cloth figure of Admiral Lord Nelson
• Collection de toutes les especes de batimens de guerre et de batimens marchands qui naviguent sur l 'ocean et dans la Mediterranee
• Postcards of HMS Victory
• HMS Victory Body Plan and Inboard Works
• The Times
• Certificate of Registry for the Liverpool registered vessel Alexander

Trafalgar Festival

Two other special displays were held at National Museums Liverpool to celebrate the Trafalgar Festival in 2005. You can see highlights in these online features:

• a display looking at preparatory drawings for the two Death of Nelson paintings at the Walker Art Gallery
• the conservation of Liverpool's Nelson monument