Montreal Nautical Objects

Nautical rangefinder signed Made in Great Britan by Kelvin Hughes a divison of Smiths Industries Limited made in the 1960s, complete with original mahogany box. AP 498 Stuats Marine Distance Meter very good working condition. Box size cm 21 x 13 H 6. It is an ancient nautical instrument used to measure...

1850 two volume set of Byron's Works, printed by A. Fullerton, Edinburgh. Scarlet Morocco leather & gilt bound set filled with superb steel engravings of Italy, etc. Lord Byron's hom...

Highly polished ships porthole with hinged door and four dog bolts. Meticulously polished and lacquered. The tempered glass has some imperfections from y...

An extremely rare ring that commemorates the naval hero, Horatio Nelson, who died in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar, fighting against the Napoleonic forces. Dr William Nelson, the admiral's brother, ordered 58 mourning rings for family and friends and every admiral and post-captain who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar . The ring is inscribed on the bezel ‘Trafalgar’; outside the hoop with Nelson’s motto in Latin, ‘Let him who earned it bear the palm [of victory]’, adopted by Nelson from a poem ‘Ad Ventos’ written in 1727 by John Jortin (1698-1770). Inside is the inscription ‘Lost to his country 21 October 1805, aged 47’. The initials N and B stand for Nelson and Bronte. Admiral Nelson was given the title of Duke of Bronte in 1799 by the King of Sicily and in 1801 became a Viscount. The two coronets above the initials refer to these titles. Tthe motto Palmam qui meruit ferat ("let him who has earned it, bear the palm") was added to his coat of arms in 1798 after the Battle of the Nile. Nelson was buried with full honours in St Paul's Cathedral. His cortege consisted of 32 admirals, over a hundred captains, and an escort of 10,000 soldiers. This ring is an example of only fifty-eight that were made by Nelson's jeweller John Salter in 1806. Thirty-one were for Nelson's close family and friends, the rest for pall-bearers and other dignitaries (see The Nelson Dispatch, vol.3 pt.XII, oct.1990). Three similar examples of this ring are held extremely prestigious museums in the capital. One is in the Greenwich National Maritime Museum in London, another in The British Museum in London and another in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, exhibited in the Jewellery Gallery, case 23, no. 8. The ring has a particularly special provenance, arguably like no other mourning ring of Admiral Nelson’s. The ring belonged to the Reverend Alexander John Scott. The Reverend Alexander John Scott (1768-1840) was a British naval chaplain. He was appointed to the flagship H.M.S. Victory in 1803 where he served as private secretary to Lord Nelson. He was with Nelson when when he was shot on the quarter-deck of the Victory at the battle of Trafalgar on the 21st October 1805. Scott attended his dying chief in the cockpit of the flagship, receiving his last wishes. He refused to leave Nelson's body until it was brought back to England and placed in the coffin to lie in the Painted Hall Greenwich. The ring, lock of hair and music book were passed down by the direct descendants of the Reverend Alexander John Scott's family and eventually gifted to the previous owners. The music book was a personal possession of the Reverend which gives watertight provenance of the person who owned the ring. It is not clear exactly what Admiral Nelson’s last words really were although Scott documents Nelson’s last words to be “God and my country“. However, it is also recorded that a statement during his last hours was "Thank God I have done my duty.” Perhaps these two statements uttered in the last moments sound similar when mumbled by a feeble dying man. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy is that Scott remained by Admiral Nelson’s side as he died and his version is probably the most reliable. The lock of hair is reputedly that of Lord Admiral Nelson. Without a DNA test there can be no conclusive proof of such. However, given that Reverend Alexander John Scott was with Nelson from the moment he was shot on the quarter-deck of H.M.S. Victory until the moment he was placed in his coffin, there is no reason to believe it is not a lock of Nelson’s hair. It is difficult to overstate the significance and rarity of Nelson’s mourning rings. With only fifty-eight made, the vast majority of them were given to close family members and only a few were given to close friends. A close friend who receives a morning ring...

Large size glass globe onion lamp from a ship well made european style oil lantern with original burner and chimney shade. The Glass globe is protected by Brass bars. There is a vent...

RARE, GREEN GLASS & ROPE FISHING FLOAT OR BUOY, c.1910 from a collection of similar floats of different sizes, there are four this size and some smaller Exuding character and injecting atmosphere and conversation. The idiosyncrasies within the glass make them interesting and more valuable to collectors. Can be placed in the home or the garden The green glass ball...

A Large Nineteenth Century Zinc Buoy having bone pieces attached to its circumference. All attached on a metal stand. Fabulous piece of nautical folk art or found object.

A superb set of the monumental 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien, illustrated with a folding map to the rear of each volume. Complete in three volumes. Each volume is...

EXTREMELY RARE, GREEN GLASS & ROPE, DOUBLE FISHING FLOAT, c.1910 Exuding character and injecting atmosphere and conversation Can be placed in the home or the garden The green glass...

RARE, LARGE COLLECTION OF GREEN, BLACK & CLEAR GLASS & FISHING FLOATS OR BUOYS WITH THE MAKERS MARKS FOR SMALL NETS c.1910 Displaying a variety of makers marks and symbols such as a...

12 Volumes. Lord Macaulay, History of England. Albany Edition. Limited to 250 copies of which this is 218. Bound in full red morocco with gilt tooling on the covers and raised band s...

The Life and Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson in Twelve Volumes, Limited Edition. London: MacMillian and Co., Limited, 1898. Moroccan leather and paper boun...