Watch List notes:

Letter to John Butler from Sir Cloudesly Shovell, the British admiral involved in the Scilly Disaster, dated 14 July 1674, with accompanying vignette. 13" x 8-5/16" (fully opened) A one page letter regarding business matters written by Sir Cloudesly Shovell on 14 July 1674 while aboard the HMS Henrietta. Sir Shovell was a British career naval officer who was the Royal Navy's Admiral of the Fleet from 1706 to 1707. On 22 Oct. 1707, he, along with almost 2,000 other sailors, perished during the Scilly Disaster when four ships (the HMS Association, the HMS Eagle, the HMS Romney, and the HMS Firebrand) struck rocks and sank near the Isles of Scilly. In his time Shovell was an esteemed hero--as famous as Nelson a century later--and he was buried in Westminster Abbey. Also included in this lot is a vignette of Sir Cloudesly Shovell. Letter is worn with some internal tears and small modern tape repairs, pieces of wax seal remaining; vignette is in good condition with a small thin near bottom left corner. (Estimate: $500 - 1000)