Nelson & His World

I came across this advertisement whilst scanning pages for info on the ship Sir Alexander Ball in the Ipswich Journal, Sat Oct 1st 1814.

I have a copy of this very edition, Ed - and it cost considerably more than £1 1s!!! Just out of interest, does anyone know what £1 1s (or one guinea) would be today?

On the website 'Measuring Worth' the calculation for 1814 to 2009 is £57:90 using the Retail Price Index and an amazing £696 by using the average earnings. So I think around £6 on Amazon for a modern clone seems reasonable.

Ed

What a beautiful crisp copy you got there!

I love seeing these "day to day" things like newspaper adverts. They bring things alive for me - more than any text book can.

As regards the comparison of prices it really is the proverbial "can of worms". Whenever I see people do it on T.V. I almost yawn and think "Yes, which basis have you used?" Because, as you say you get such differing results.

On a straight inflation basis I usually use a factor of 40 to 50 between the Nelson era and now which is very close to your 57. And in all honesty it doesn't make things seem SO expensive. However average earnings gives a very different result.

And I was told once that a multiplier based on the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is THE best indicator.

Having said that I don't know off the top of my head what that is between e.g. 1805 and now.
MB