Horatio Nelson's Secret Codes and Weather Log at Firsts London

The most substantial manuscript by Horatio Nelson still in private hands is being offered for sale at Firsts London running until May 18 at the Saatchi Gallery in London by Peter Harrington for £450,000.

This autograph weather log was penned by Nelson aboard HMS Victory during his blockade of the French fleet at Toulon, from October 24, 1803 until August 31, 1804. More than simply meteorological diaries, Nelson’s weather logs written entirely in his handwere a core tool of his command, essential for anticipating French movements and manoeuvring the British fleet under often brutal conditions.

Only three other weather logs in Nelson’s hand are known to exist, two held by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and the third by the British Library.

Peter Harrington is also offering three other unusual Nelson items dated from the Trafalgar campaign:

• a hand-signed document from September 29, 1805 detailing the use of signal pendants (identifiers for ships in the fleet) featuring 21 watercolour drawings of flags
• a coded list of secret passwords known as 'paroles' dated 26 September 1805 and sent to Captain Codrington of the Orio
• Nelson’s heartfelt farewell letter of September 3, 1805 to Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge, the man who gave a teenage Nelson his first taste of the sea, and written just before Nelson boarded Victory for the last time