Plate 23

Sketchbook containing 37 watercolors done by Ellis Cornelia Knight while on board Lord Nelson's flagship the Foudroyant with Sir William and Lady Emma Hamilton in 1800. Twenty-six sketches are views taken from the ship off the coast of Sicily, under sail to Malta, and returning from Malta to Palermo. There are also sketches taken in Palermo prior to sailing, and on excursions from the ship near Syracuse. Sketch 2, for example, shows the villa of Prince Ventimiglieri in Palermo; sketch 19 shows an excursion party rowing near Syracuse. There is an index at the back of the volume.
Inscribed on verso of flyleaf by Knight: "This book was commenced at Palermo in Sicily, 1800. Finished at Windsor, 1806."
Some captions on versos erased.
Binding: contemporary full calf; gilt decoration.
Ellis Cornelia Knight (1757-1837), writer, governess and protégé of Lady Emma Hamilton, whom she broke with after Lady Hamilton's affair with Lord Nelson became public knowledge in England. Knight's works include Dinarbas: A Tale (1790) and Sir Guy de Lusignan (1833).
Collective Title: Sketchbook of a cruise on the Foudroyant, 1800-1806.