Nelson & His World

Tony/Kester

I will email one of the guys in the West Bromwich Local History Society. See if they will write to Sotheby's and try and make contact with the purchaser.

I think there would be more likelihood of success if they do it rather than e.g. myself as a private individual.

Here's hoping . . . . .

MB

The recording of signals in masters' logs does seem to have been very hit and miss, so I wouldn't read too much into the fact that repeating the signal was not recorded. And although the master's log of the Temeraire is better than most, containing many of the signals made that day, it does not record the 'England expects' signal at all, let alone answering or repeating it.

Unfortunately Sotheby's have confirmed that they don't have a mechanism for contacting the purchaser of an auction item.

I know that in the past Christie's enabled me to contact both the seller AND the purchaser of items - but maybe the different houses have different rules or maybe they have all tightened up on their procedures.

Meanwhile, if the purchaser of this item looks in on this thread, myself and the West Bromwich Local History Society would very much like to make contact. We have a lot of information about James Eaton which we would be very happy to share.

You can contact me privately by clicking on the PM (Personal Message) button below any of my posts - enter your message - and click on the Submit button.

Hope to hear from you!

MB

Mark,

Sorry to hear that. I hope you manage to make contact.

Mark:

If Sotheby's won't put you in contact with the purchaser (and one can understand that privacy has to be respected), would it be worth asking them to forward a letter to the purchaser? You, thereby, wouldn't need to know his name and he would be free to contact you, or not, as he wished. I once asked Christie's to forward a letter to a purchase which they did. Worth a try?

Mark,

Likewise, Christie's were good enough to forward letters/requests for information to buyers on my behalf very recently, and took quite a bit of time and trouble over it. A very impressive service and one that isn't based on the relentless quest for filthy lucre. Having said that, If I ever need to sell anything, I'd consider contacting Christie's first - because of the exceptional and fruitful response from them - and also the fact that they were so keen to facilitate the spreading of knowledge.

If Sotheby's aren't even interested in forwarding a letter on your behalf, there are hundreds (literally) of Sotheby's sales catalogues, many (older ones) with the names of the buyers pinned to the inside back cover, at the John Rylands Library in Manchester. The Deansgate site. It's not ideal, but a starting point.

The regulations for gaining access to special collections are similar to the British Library - easier if you're a alumnus - and you can find out more here: http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/

You'll also find you can search the content of the Sotheby's sales catalogues collection online.