Nelson’s bloody purse opened up after 200 years

A bloodstained silk purse carried by Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar was revealed today after almost 200 years under lock and key.

The purse is in a collection of the famous admiral’s property which was uncovered by Sotheby’s expert Martyn Downer last year.

The collection belonged to descendants of Alexander Davison, Nelson’s friend and banker.

The whole collection had been locked away for 200 years until the Davison family asked Mr Downer to value one item, a magnificent diamond brooch initialled HN.

Mr Downer said: ‘‘When I realised the significance of the items, and especially the purse that Nelson carried at Trafalgar, it was a heart-stopping moment. These are not just historical items. This is history before us.’’

Also in the collection are 72 letters from Lady Nelson to Davison detailing her heartbreak over her husband’s affair with Lady Hamilton.

Ceremonial swords and two wine coolers are also in the collection described by Tom Pocock, Nelson’s biographer, as ‘‘the most remarkable Nelsonian archive and collection to be discovered for more than a century’’.

The entire Davison collection will be sold on Trafalgar Day, October 21, this year - almost 200 years since the battle and Nelson’s heroic death in 1805.

The entire collection is estimated to be worth between £700,000 (€1,082,541) and £900,000 (€1,391,747).