Comments | joyful_molly: Resource: The Snuffbox, The French Admiral and the Lieutenant's Wife

joyful_molly

Resource: The Snuffbox, The French Admiral and the Lieutenant's Wife

Jan 03, 2011 17:51

Another naval gem from the Antiques Roadshow, but this time, the really interesting bit is not some invaluable item found in the attic - it's the story behind it.

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royal navy, resource, 19th century, bbc, ships, art, tall ships, age of sail, 18th century, bbc1, tv

Comments 19

lilfluffykitten January 4 2011, 18:35:55 UTC

And what an excellent piece of detective work!

I hate the Antiques Roadshow with a fiery burning passion, but I do tend to get sucked in when there's an interesting (and rather epic) story like this featured.

Also, £5000-£8000 is not to (ahem) be sneezed at.

joyful_molly January 4 2011, 23:20:22 UTC

I love the Antiques Roadshow. :) It's my guilty pleasure, and once in a while, a gem like this one comes up. The crocodile sword of Captain Saumarez, for example. That was brilliant. And I have another one, a present by Emma Lady Hamilton to Nelson. Family stories like the one of the snuff box or the lieutenant's wife travelling to France often don't find their way into history books, so it's always great to find such a little historical puzzle piece and then try and hunt down the rest of the picture. It makes history easier to understand for me.

lilfluffykitten January 5 2011, 18:23:04 UTC

I hate the Antiques Roadshow with a fiery burning passion

I've just reread that, and I realise that it's maybe a bit of an extreme overreaction out of context! My parents love the AR and used to religiously watch it every Sunday, so it just sums up that pre-Monday morning despair that used to descend around 5pm on Sunday! :)

It makes history easier to understand for me.

It's nice to be able to put a human face on history. Seeing it through these little details really does make it come alive.