62 9th June 2012 letters to the editor


SIR – With reference to Elsa Shrive’s letter published in ATG No 2040, the same illustration of the funeral procession is reproduced in the book in French Sainte- Hélène, Île de Mémoire Ed. Fayard 2005, page 200. It is noted that this image derives from


a sketch made by Royal Navy offi cer and later famous novelist Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848), published in London on July 25, 1821. Captain Marryat is also known to have


made a sketch (also shown in Sainte- Hélène, Île de Mémoire) of Napoleon on his deathbed as stated “14 hours after his death upon request of Sir Hudson Lowe and with permission of Grand Maréchal Bertrand and Comte Montholon”. At that moment Napoleon was not yet


dressed in full uniform, so the illustration of him on his deathbed shown in ATG No 2040 is not by Captain Marryat but is most probably a later artist’s impression


Championntiques A


STEP forward Hong Kong entrepreneur Sir David Tang. In The Standard’s Londoner’s Diary of May 23, Sir David is reported to have offered the columnist his opinions on grand hotels, while viewing the new £10,000-a-night Royal Suite at the Savoy. “Why can’t expensive hotels


have some antique furniture?” Londoner reports him as asking. “It’s so much nicer and just as cheap as this made-to-measure stuff. It’s all too expensive for me.” Readers will recall that


Bonhams were commissioned to conduct an on-the-sale premises of much of the contents of The Savoy in December 2007 prior to the hotel’s refurbishment. Perhaps Fairmont Hotels and


Resorts, owners of The Savoy, would consider heeding Sir David’s advice by reinvesting some of the £1m plus they would have netted from the sale in antiques. I’m sure Bonhams would be happy to oblige once more.  If you know of any public


fi gures championing the cause of antiques like this, please let us know. You can email us at editorial@atgmedia.com


Pigeons and parrots – the difference


SIR – Re: Auction Reports, page 16, ATG No 2042, The bird shown (illustrated above) is, I


believe, a pigeon not a parrot. Parrots have a characteristic hooked/


secateur beak for cracking seeds and biting fruit. Their feet are also different to the bird shown as they have two toes only forward, the rest back, to enable movement in the trees and to pick up items such as fruit. A cockatoo I had years ago could pick


up a whole apple – he only bit lumps out of it, as he did my wife of the time. Thanks again.


Nigel Poole Via email


for the purpose of illustrating the book (no such heavy and coloured hangings in reality; Napoleon’s hat omitted). A book in three volumes entitled


History (not The Life as mentioned by Ms Shrive) of Napoleon Bonarparte and Wars of Europe from the Revolution in France to the Termination of the Late Wars Including Anecdotes of the Most Celebrated Characters that Have Appeared during and since the Revolution by W.B. Heweston, published in London by Thomas Kelly, fi rst edition, title page dated 1821, with 26 plates, including fi ve coloured, although 21 only recorded on the plate list, was found available for sale (by bookseller Rulon-Miller Books, Saint Paul, MN, USA) through abebooks.com. So the “The Author” referred to in the distressed book is probably Heweston.


Jean-Paul Mayeux Via email


ivan macquisten email: editorial@atgmedia.com


Famous novelist Captain Marryat was your Napoleonic artist


Above: two of the pictures showing Napoleon’s deathbed and funeral on St Helena sent in by reader Elsa Shrive – the one on the left is said to derive from a Captain Frederick Marryat sketch, while that on the right is thought to be a later artist’s impression.


SIR – I refer to the illustrations of Napoleon’s funeral on St Helena sent in by reader Elsa Shrive in ATG No 2040. The original paintings are by Captain Frederick Marryat (1791-1848) who


was one of three naval captains who inspected Napoleon’s body at the request of Governor Hudson Lowe. Marryat was also, of course, a well-known novelist, his best-known work probably being Mr Midshipman Easy.


Ian Mathieson Stamford Lincolnshire


More problems with credit card fraud


SIR – I am a LAPADA dealer based in the North West of England and wonder if I could pass on information to your readers concerning attempted mail order purchases of antiques using fraudulent credit cards. I was contacted by someone needing


an item for urgent delivery (next day), wanting an item to be shipped to an address other than their own for a birthday present. The amount was about £1000 and


Card companies and police show little interest in prevention


SIR – In response to Malcolm Green’s experience (‘Fraud alert: police nonplussed and card company didn’t care’, Letters, ATG No 2041), I too had the misfortune to accept a fraudulent credit card purchase over the phone. This happened at the busiest time of year, December. The buyer’s approach seemed a bit


suspicious at the time and, as in Mr Green’s description, they asked for the items to be dispatched promptly. I too phoned my merchant customer service who stated that the transaction had been authorised and it was okay to post the items. A couple of months later, I received a ‘chargeback’. This is where the credit card company take the funds back as the transaction has been disputed by the cardholder. I was informed that nothing could be done to prevent this happening. As I had been given the go-ahead to


they had seen it on my website. The card turned out to be stolen and, needless to say, after checking with the card company I refunded the transaction and did not proceed. The main reason that I was on my


guard was that a colleague in the South of England had a similar occurence a few weeks ago. There’s a lot of it about.


Janice Kehoe www.solo-antiques.co.uk


send the item, after some correspondence I managed to receive reimbursement for the cost price. I too contacted the police to alert them,


as I had the recipient’s address, but they were not interested. All it seems that one can do is to be


vigilant, check that the card is registered to the same name as the postal address and send either recorded or special delivery so it is tracked.


Karen Rennie Rennies Seaside Modern Folkestone Kent


We welcome your


correspondence. Please email the Editor at:


editorial@atgmedia.com


The Editor reserves the right to amend correspondence where necessary for publication.


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