Author Archive

THE NILE CLUMPS VISIT MONDAY AUGUST 1^ST 2011

We have arranged a second visit to The Nile Clumps,near Amesbury, Wiltshire on Monday August 1^st 2011 in conjunction with Colin Heggie of Amesbury Rotary who are restoring the The Nile Clumps which are Beech trees planted each depicting a ship at The Battle of the Nile and were planted by Baron Douglas said at the behest of Lady Hamilton and Capt Hardy. The restoration was started by Tony Lester Caird and continued now by Amesbury Rotary

 

Most of the restored trees are on Countess Farm owned by The National Trust run by Hugh Morrison and Christopher King who kindly allow the visit. We are to be at Countess Farm at 10.00am. Cars can be left there for the walk or drive possibly by tractor and trailer. Since our last visit in 2009 The Nelson  Society have purchased trees on HMS Alexander which were planted in March 2011 are on the adjoining farm owned by Mrs Sandell and her son. This is the first restoration of clumps on the farm and Amesbury Rotary hope to put a plaque marking HMS Alexander that at The Battle of the Nile sank three French vessels. It is also hoped that a descendent of Admiral Bull, Captain of HMS Alexander at the battle may join be able us on this visit. The certificates for these trees on HMS Alexander will be presented to Dr Nick Slope by Amesbury Rotary. Members that have also purchased trees will be able to see their trees for the first time.

 

We have made arrangements with The Salisbury/Stonehenge Holiday Inn near Amesbury to meet there for Morning coffee and a comfort stop between 9.00 am and 9.30 am leaving the hotel by 9.45am for Countess Farm. We will return to the Holiday Inn for lunch at approximately 1.00pm. We will be joined by Amesbury Rotary and the National Trust, Tony Lester Caird and Neil Morrison the farmer when the first Clumps were restored for the visit and after at lunch. We are limited to 30 members as we can only have 15 members at a time on the tractor/trailer ride at a time.

 

We have arranged a 2 course luncheon including tea and coffee for members and  morning coffee. The cost for the visit, the luncheon and morning coffee is £25.00

 

We have also arranged a special rate of £75.00 per room including breakfast with The Solistice/Stonehenge Holiday Inn for up to two people on the Sunday evening July 31^st 2011 for members who live too far to comfortably reach The Nile Clumps early on Monday morning. It is very close to Stonehenge and Salisbury for those who would like a 2 day break away. Members will need to make the own room bookings by June 30^th 2011 direct with the hotel.

 

For more information please contact :

Genevieve St George

The Nile Clumps 2011 Booking Form

I / we wish to join the Nelson Society visit to The Nile Clumps at Countess Farm, Wiltshire on Monday August 1^st 2011 and after for luncheon at The Holiday Inn Salisbury/Stonehenge near Amesbury, Wiltshire at a cost of £25.00 per person to cover the visit, morning coffee and the lunch as on the attached Menu. Please enclose a cheque for £25 pounds made out to The Nelson Society.

 

Members Name/

Names   …………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

Membership number……………………………………………………………………………..

 

Address .………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Postcode     ……………………

Phone No ………………………….. Mobile No…………………………………

 

Email …………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

I/we would like the main menu………………….

 

I/we would like the vegetarian menu.……………

 

We will be walking on a farm so sturdy shoes and country clothing are   recommended.

 

Disclaimer: The Nelson Society is not responsible for hotel bills or accidents and recommends personal Insurance cover. I accept the TNS terms and conditions.

 

Name………………………………….Signed……………………Dated…………………

Menu

Marinated chicken breast

spring onion mash potato, roasted courgettes and

red peppers, tarragon jus

~~~~~~

Charlotte of grilled Mediterranean vegetables

spicy cous cous and a tomato basil sauce

~~~~~~

Seasonal berry Pavlova

vanilla ice cream and

raspberry coulis

Tea or Coffee

 

Nelson Remembered

Date: Tuesday 08^th February

Commences: 18:00 with drinks reception in the museum

Concludes: 21:00

Buffet– This special event begins with a wine reception and a buffet supper completing the evening after David’s talk.

Call on 029-2078-8370 to reserve a space

Price – tickets are £20 per person.

Firing Line Museum is pleased to welcome Nelson expert David Williams JP FRSA to be our first speaker in a succession of talks that will be held at the museum throughout the year.

David’s talk will illustrate the life of England’s greatest naval hero, from his humble beginnings to his tragic death at Trafalgar. Find out what made him the man he was, what it was like to be a part of Nelson’s Navy, and why his victories were so dramatic, and so important.  To illustrate his talk he will have some fascinating images as well as objects such as spoons belonging to Nelson himself, a real Cat o nine tails and a white ensign presented to him by the Ark Royal.

David became fascinated with all things connected to Horatio Nelson from about the age of eight when his parents took him to see HMS ‘Victory’ in Portsmouth Harbour.  The subject has become a life long passion and one that has seen him appear in the major Channel 4 documentary entitled ‘Nelson’s Trafalgar’ as well as be  invited to give a series of lectures on Nelson and the museum’s collections in Boston, USA.

He continues to be an active promoter of the history of Nelson and as recently as 2004 played an active role in the creation of the magnificent Nelson room for the headquarters of Taylor Energy.  This is a firm based in New Orleans and previously run by Nelson enthusiast and close friend the late Mr Peter Taylor.

In the lead up to the Bi-Centennial Trafalgar Celebrations in 2005, David was asked to design a wide range of Nelson commemoratives including a unique Nelson fabric, a special range of bone china made by Royal Worcester, and a magnificent hand cut crystal vase specially made by Dartington Crystal. In 2005 David was also asked to provide two special Nelson related Christmas presents – one for Prince Charles and the other for the Duchess of Cornwall.

There will be an opportunity to purchase some related memorabilia at the end of the talk.

December 2010                                                                                   Arthur Dunkelman, ardu@kislak.com

Megan Smith, msmith@grolierclub.org

The Enchantress: Emma, Lady Hamilton

At the Grolier Club                                                              February 16 – April 30, 2011

An exhibition on the extraordinary life and legacy of Emma, Lady Hamilton will be on display at the Grolier Club in New York from February 16 through April 30, 2011. The exhibition, The Enchantress: Emma, Lady Hamilton, will feature the Jean Kislak collection of manuscripts, books and art related to Lady Hamilton and her era, including the events that shaped her life and the men she helped shape – most prominently Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson, Britain’s greatest naval hero.

Among many exceptional items in the exhibit are oil portraits of Emma Hamilton by famed British painters George Romney and Sir Thomas Lawrence as well as the earliest known letter from Lord Nelson to Emma, 13 June 1798, written aboard HMS Vanguard just before the decisive Battle of the Nile, when the English destroyed the French fleet.

“That Hamilton Woman”

Loved, celebrated and abandoned, Emma Hamilton was among the most colorful characters in English history. She refused to accept the norms of her society; instead, she used her beauty and charisma to cross the boundaries of class, sex, geography and wealth. Her sphere of influence spanned theater, art and music; as well as international society and diplomacy.

Born Amy Lyon, daughter of a poor country blacksmith, she reinvented herself as the glamorous Emma Hart while still in her teens, and by 26 had become Emma, Lady Hamilton, wife of Sir William Hamilton, the 61-year-old British envoy to the court of Naples. Her beauty was legendary; her portrait was painted repeatedly by famous artists of her day, most notably by Romney, whose obsession with her led him to create at least 60 portraits and historic allegories inspired by Emma’s image.

The Kislak collection includes three outstanding Romney portraits of Emma, as well as a Romney painting of Charles Greville, Emma’s early paramour, and a portrait of Sir William Hamilton by William Beechey.

Emma is best known for her love affair with Admiral Nelson, the brilliant naval commander whose statue stands today atop a 185-foot-tall column in London’s Trafalgar Square. Their scandalous affair – both were married to others – was one of the most famous in history and remains a subject of fascination. More than two hundred years later, newspaper articles, books and movies continue to be written. Emma Hamilton is even a popular topic on the Internet.

Emma’s life is revealed touchingly through the Kislak collection, a rich historic trove of letters, books, art works and personal effects. The collection also includes an array of 20^th century works inspired by her romantic and tragic story – including novels, biographies, a theater program from a 1920s London play, a movie poster for Alexander Korda’s 1941 historical drama, That Hamilton Woman, starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, and the first draft of a television screenplay, A Bequest to the Nation, by Terence Rattigan.

During their lifetimes, Nelson and Emma made a pact to destroy the letters received from one another. Nelson kept his promise and destroyed Emma’s letters, but Emma broke her word, so many of Nelson’s letters to her still exist. The Kislak collection includes 11 of them.

Jean Kislak, collector and connoisseur, has studied Emma’s history for more than 25 years, assembling a collection that reveals the scope and depth of Emma’s colorful life. In addition to original letters spanning the period from 1765 to 1807, the collection also includes a diversity of art and objects – such as a portfolio of prints of Emma in theatrical poses, sheet music signed by Emma, an 1805 commemorative silver pill box with Nelson’s portrait in cameo, a collection of Emma’s financial papers, and an account book in which a youthful Emma Hart documented her spending on everyday items such as sugar, coffee and thread.

The Grolier Club exhibition will include one of the larger and more personal objects in the Kislak collection, the wooden cradle that held baby Horatia, the daughter born to Emma and Nelson in 1801.

LOCATION AND TIME: The Enchantress: Emma, Lady Hamilton will be on view at the Grolier Club, 47 East 60^th Street, New York, from February 16 through April 30, 2011. The exhibit will be open to the public free of charge, Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional information and directions are available at www.grolierclub.org.

CATALOGUE: An illustrated catalog of The Enchantress: Emma, Lady Hamilton will be available at the Grolier Club and from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation, Miami Lakes, Florida, www.kislakfoundation.org.

RELATED EVENTS:

February 17, 2011: Remarks by Martyn Downer, author of Nelson’s Purse: The Mystery of Lord Nelson’s Lost Treasures; Flora Fraser, author of Emma, Lady Hamilton, and Jean Kislak, collector. At the Grolier Club. 6pm. Open to the public, business attire.

February 23, 2011: Film screening, That Hamilton Woman (1941, directed by Alexander Korda, starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier), with remarks by Michael Korda, Editor in Chief Emeritus, Simon & Schuster, and author of Charmed Lives. At the Grolier Club. 6pm. Open to the public, business attire.

April 7, 2011: Lecture by exhibit curator Arthur Dunkelman, in connection with the 50^th anniversary New York Antiquarian Book Fair. At the Grolier Club. 2-3pm. Open to the public, business attire.

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT THE GROLIER CLUB

May 18 – July 27, 2011. “The Best of Both Worlds: Livres d’Artiste Finely Printed.”

Sept. 13 – Nov. 4, 2011. “Silver Screen / Silver Prints: Hollywood Portrait Photographers 1916-1960 from the Collection of Robert Dance”

Dec. 6, 2011 – Feb. 4, 2012. “Treasures of the Imprimerie Nationale”

Visit the Grolier Club website: www.grolierclub.org