Yes, they can't all be genuine Nelson letters. It's a strange one isn't it.
As for this latest auction, it seems the family selling the item aren't clear about the origin, and a bit of guesswork has gone into the provenance:
Quote: Provenance: The letter is entered for auction by The Lloyd family of Dolobran, Quakers, iron merchants and founder partners of Taylors and Lloyds bank, now Lloyds TSB. However, an article in The New York Times of December 31st 1911 states that this letter 'NEW NELSON LETTER' was newly discovered by a West Hartleypool gentleman, an ancestor of Thomas Lloyd. It is not known who this ancestor is but it is presumed that it was returned / purchased by the Dolobran Lloyds at this time.
As for grease proof paper, here's the auctioneers' description:
Quote: Written in black ink on grease proof paper.
The letter is written in Nelson's left hand while he was recuperating in Bath from losing his arm.
Resorting to the internet for a history of 'grease proof paper' - or wax paper as it seems to have been called:
Quote: The practice of oiling parchment or paper in order to make it semi-translucent or moisture-proof goes back at least to medieval times. Paper impregnated or coated with purified beeswax was widely used throughout the 19th century to retain or exclude moisture, or to wrap odorous products. Gustave Le Gray introduced the use of waxed paper for photographic negatives in 1851. Natural wax was largely replaced for the making of wax paper (or paraffine paper) after Herman Frasch developed ways of purifying paraffin and coating paper with it in 1876.
It looks like a lot of questions are hanging over this particular letter and its sale.
Though the estimate is low (for an original Nelson letter) - £2,000 to £4,000 is a very large price tag considering the question marks mounting up. What's the position of a potential buyer, if it's sold as genuine and turns out to be a fac-simile?
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