Nelson & His World

For sale on ebay: the original list of survivors after a fire aboard HMS Ajax in 1807 in which 200+ seamen were lost, plus other documents of maritime interest. It would be a pity, I think, if this valuable record were to disappear into a private collection rather than one accessible to the public.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ORIGINAL-survivor ... 2c54f2111c

Many of the men listed as survivors also appear on the Trafalgar roll.

Tycho
Very interesting item but could they not perhaps be copies? and if not,where have they been for two hundred yrs one wonders.Were Adm Duckworths papers not held at NA.
Please excuse my pessimism,its just the way i sometimes think.

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Dave.

Your suspicions may be correct; it's wise to take any claim on ebay with a pinch of salt. I just quote the seller's claim that they are original - and with a price of £4000+, he'd better be right!

Possibly several contemporary copies were made and one was retained by Duckworth among his private papers?

The seller has listed these papers a couple of times previously, and they have not sold at that price, but I don't see any particular reason to doubt that they are original. The lists for each ship are in different hands, on different paper, and signed by the captain, as he would sign a muster. Although the papers are fascinating, and an important historical record, I can't see who would be willing to pay that sort of price for them.