Auctions | September 22, 2026

Major Collection of Nelson's Letters and Documents to Auction

Sotheby's

A selection of items from the sale

What Sotheby’s describes as "the greatest collection of letters and documents relating to Vice-Admiral Horatio, Viscount Nelson in private hands today" will come to auction next month including letters to and from his lover Emma Hamilton.

The collection of 415 letters, documents and manuscripts was assembled over 40 years by Clive Richards (1937-2021) and will be offered with an estimate of £4m-£6m in a single-lot sealed auction, open for bidding from 21 October to 18 November 2026. The proceeds will continue Richards’ philanthropic legacy benefitting the Clive Richardson Foundation which is committed to supporting education, healthcare, heritage and arts.

The core of the collection is ‘The Nelson Papers’, an archive of documents by Nelson himself including 168 autograph letters charting his rise, addressed to fellow naval officers, politicians, family members and Emma Hamilton. Spanning the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the papers include letters relating to Bastia, Cape St Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar. Among letters written after the loss of sight in one eye, and later following the amputation of his right arm, Nelson remarks that he has "not the hand of a ready writer".

Alongside these are 24 letters to Emma Hamilton, wife of Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to Naples. In a personal letter of January 29, 1800, Nelson writes:

"...Last night I did nothing but dream of you altho' I woke 20 times in the night. In one of my dreams I thought I was at a large table you was[sic] not present, sitting between a Princess who I detest and another, they both tried to seduce me and the first wanted to take those liberties with me which now woman in this world but yourself ever did, the consequence was I knocked her down and in the moment of bustle you came in and taking me to your embrace whispered I love nothing but you my Nelson, I kissed you fervently and we enjoy'd the height of love..."

The Richards Collection contains 135 documents relating to the Hamiltons, including 73 letters by Emma. Among these are the only two letters by Emma to Nelson remaining in private hands, both of which were written in the days before Trafalgar, only reaching the fleet after the battle and therefore never read by their intended recipient. The collection also contains letters by Sir William Hamilton spanning the couple's years in Naples and the final period of his life.

Additionally there is a correspondence of 61 letters between Emma Hamilton and the family of the Reverend William Nelson, Horatio's elder brother. Dating from 1801 to 1809, these letters chart a striking shift from warmth and affection to growing hostility in the years following Nelson's death, as William secured control of his brother's inheritance. Through a series of increasingly desperate appeals, including begging letters and petitions for government support, the correspondence documents Emma's decline.

Sotheby's

Nelson's 'dream' letter to Emma Hamilton

Sotheby's

Letters from the Battle Papers

Sotheby's

A letter to Nelson from his father

Sotheby's

Horatio Nelson autograph letter signed, partially in the hand of Frances Nelson, to Captain Miller, written when Nelson was learning to write with his left hand, December 11, 1797

Complementing the manuscript material is a group of books from Emma and Horatio’s library.

Another key section, the Battle Papers, is made up of ship logs, letters and contemporary accounts relating to the Battles of Cape St Vincent, the Nile and Trafalgar. Highlights include:

letters by Captain Edward Berry, Nelson's flag captain at the Nile, written in the immediate aftermath of the victory
a pair of letters from William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Nelson's third-in-command at Trafalgar, written immediately before and after the battle
a logbook that preserves one of the earliest records of Nelson’s inspiring signal as the fleet went into battle at Trafalgar
signed copies of orders issued by Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, Nelson's close friend and second-in-command, who assumed command of the fleet following Nelson's death

The collection also traces the wider history of the Nelson family beyond its most famous son including letters from his father, the Reverend Edmund Nelson, one addressed affectionately to "My Dear Hor", alongside correspondence reporting Nelson's role in the victory at Cape St Vincent and the excitement it generated among his family.

These papers also shed light on the personal consequences of Nelson's relationship with Emma Hamilton. Family correspondence reveals the strains created by his estrangement from his wife, Frances Nelson, while later letters chart the family's gradual return to relative obscurity following Nelson's death, including correspondence concerning the financial difficulties of his daughter Horatia and unsuccessful attempts to secure support on her behalf.