What Does Nelson Have In His Hand: Nelson’s right and left hands are shown in the Wellcome exhibit, which shows how the past still has an impact today. A graphologist who was looking at the letters of a naval commander had no notion they were written by the same person. A right-handed man, age 36, performed pretty well while a left-handed man, age 46, had their handwriting compared by a graphologist. He asserted that left-handed persons “are outspoken and not scared to accept responsibility.”
In contrast to right-handed people who “will always give of their best.” He spoke. He claimed that the left-handed author’s past “had left its stamp.” Definitely the past. The graphologist was unaware that the same individual wrote both letters, despite the fact that Horatio Nelson’s right arm had been amputated in 1797 after being struck by a Spanish musket ball on Tenerife. Nelson was back at work and signing orders with his left hand less than an hour after having his left hand amputated, according to accounts.
His left hand was used for everything he wrote after that, including the infamously passionate love letters he wrote to Emma Hamilton. The one-of-a-kind Hands event will take place this Friday night at the Wellcome Collection in London and will include everything from finger painting to faith healing. The letters, together with hundreds of other autographs, are part of the extensive collection at the Wellcome Library, where curator Chris Hilton has been studying them. “His left handwriting has so much more to it; it isn’t as neat and regular but has a lot of personalities.
Nelson’s handwriting is almost indistinguishable from the clerk’s, even though a clerk certainly wrote a majority of the letter.” The man’s “urgency, intelligence, and vigor” are readily apparent in his left-handed writing. But in the 1930s, avid collector Henry Wellcome would have paid a lot more for the dull right-handed communication. Nelson was just 39 years old when he lost an arm in the Battle of the Nile the next year, but he went on to become one of the most well-known military figures in history. His right-handed letters are incredibly hard to find and quite expensive.
Nelson’s Column by H. J. Baily in Trafalgar Square
One of London’s most recognizable monuments, the 150-foot-tall Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square was built over the course of two years, becoming one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks in 1843 (for a list, see this page). It was vital to retain the monument’s proportions with the column and keep it visible from below in order to accommodate the 18-foot-tall statue of Nelson atop the Corinthian column, which was sculpted by H. J. Baily and was built the same year as the column.
The finest places to view Trafalgar Plaza are from the margins of the square, the roads leading off of it, or higher land with views between or over buildings, as you can see in the photo on the Trafalgar Square website. Although Trafalgar Square is on a hill, you can see Nelson’s Column more clearly from the steps of the National Gallery on the north side. Where he won his illustrious battles, you can view down Whitehall toward Parliament, the south, and the sea from there. The statue with its unique tricorn hat stands out against the sky at a medium distance if you turn to look in other directions. The far column and the tiny figure act as markers for recognizing this area of London if you gaze much further away.
Various viewpoints on Baily’s statue of Nelson:
The statue shows Nelson in a well-known pose with one hand on the sword’s pommel and the other tucked inside his jacket’s sleeve. He wears several other medals in addition to the ornament on his head. To give the statue a seascape backdrop and add further structural support for the huge, hulking stone figure, a coil of rope is positioned behind him. E. H. Baily, a sculptor from Bristol who studied under Flaxman and specialized in portraiture but also created a number of massive and allegorical pieces, is profiled on a separate page. William Railton’s Column shows the National Gallery, Canada House, and lions.
Flaxman Nelson Monument at St. Paul’s Cathedral:
There are several statues of Nelson across the nation because he is considered a national hero. The Nelson memorial at St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by John Flaxman. In this earlier statue, which depicts Nelson standing with a coil of rope next to him but connected to an anchor, Flaxman conceals Nelson’s missing arm with a draped cloak in contrast to Baily’s Trafalgar Square figure. The St. Paul’s Nelson is finished with a Britannia, two boys, and the River Gods of the Thames.
Another memorial group with additional figures and a frieze may be found in the Guildhall. It includes a lion-seated Britannia holding a plaque with Nelson’s portrait. It was made by a little-known sculptor named James Smith. In Greenwich, a more well-known sculpture by Benjamin West shows Nelson’s immortality. Although it is not accessible to the public, one of the government buildings down Whitehall has a rough replica of Nelson’s Trafalgar Square. William Railton designed the actual column of Nelson’s Column, which is fluted (grooved) in design and adheres to the Corinthian inscriptions.
You may have observed that the York Column, London’s second-largest statuary column, is located at Waterloo Place off of the Mall to the west of Trafalgar Square (see below). This one was designed by Benjamin Wyatt and constructed a few years before Nelson. At the foot of the column are bronze plaques. The Battle of St. Vincent panel for the Column, whose own panel is the Battle of the Nile, was finished by W. F. Woodington after the death of sculptor M. L.
Nelson statues are present in Portsmouth, Liverpool, & Birmingham
Another Nelson’s Column can be found in Yarmouth; it was built by William Wilkins, who also designed the National Gallery; this is a happy coincidence. Its construction took place between 1817 and 1819, and it is made of fluted and Doric limestone. No statue, but Britannia, whose base is supported by Caryatids, honors Nelson. The names of the ships and conflicts Nelson oversaw are listed on the summit. (insiderlyfe.com) An excellent Nelson statue is part of the Liverpool Nelson Monument, which is particularly noteworthy and has its own page on this website.
For a long time, Birmingham’s only public statue was one created by Sir Richard Westmacott RA and erected in 1809. It shows him with his arms outstretched in front of the prow of a model ship meant to represent HMS Victory. There is no original carving on it because the original base was destroyed. Even though it is small, the bronze statue of Nelson by F. Brook Hitch at Portsmouth is noteworthy because the artist went to great lengths to make sure it was accurate in every way.
Among other Nelson statues, the weathered stone statue of Nelson in Norwich that was sculpted by Thomas Milnes is one that I really like. There are far too many busts of Nelson to list here, but two come to mind: the Chantrey bust in Greenwich and the Turnerelli bust in Norwich (in the Castle) (outside the Naval Museum).
