| Nelson & His World http://www.nelsonandhisworld.co.uk/forum/ |
|
| Nelson's Eye Patch http://www.nelsonandhisworld.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=248 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | tycho [ Thu Oct 23, 2008 6:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | Nelson's Eye Patch |
Further to the discussion on Nelson's chelengk, in which I referred to John Munday's essay 'The Nelson Relics' in 'The Nelson Companion' edited by Colin White, I noted there two interesting points: 1) we all know that Nelson did not wear the eyepatch over his right eye that is often shown on images of him, but rather a shade, designed and made by Lock's the Hatters, sewn onto his hat. However, Munday notes that 'at Greenwich, among the relics obtained from Lord Bridport, [there is] a single black silk patch lined with green silk. So we cannot be absolutely sure that he was never seen to wear one.' The provenance seems very sound, so this sounds intriguing. He did ask Emma to make him a shade. Could this be it? 2) visitors to the Nelson Museum at Monmouth will have been amused at the collection of Nelson fakes on display, including his glass eye 'enclosed in a sort of egg cup. As everyone knows he lost the sight of his right eye but not the optic itself. However, that particular curiosity turns out to be an important anatomical model of the human eye, of great interest in its own right, which has been exhibited at international optical conventions'. John Munday's essay is full of interesting information, including the fact that the thief who stole the chelengk and sold the diamonds for a few thousand, was one George Chapman, who rejoiced in the nickname of 'Taters'. There is also a photograph of the chelengk showing it in great detail on p. 67. |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC [ DST ] |
| Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|