Charles Miller Ltd

02/10/2026

It was a team effort - we now know the identity of this

30/09/2026

I'm taking on the role of Editor this week - proofing & note-taking as I compile the next catalogue

29/09/2026

This rare gift from Lord Nelson to Emma, Lady Hamilton given to her at the height of their romance is being sold with a letter of provenance from the Nisbet family, descendants of Frances Nelson, Viscountess Nelson - Horatio's estranged wife!

26/09/2026

A silver pair-cased one day pocket chronometer by Barraud, London, used by the East India Co. Captain James Walker aboard the H.C.S. Macqueen 1821 measures 14cm high and is estimated at £6,000-8,000 in our 10th November auction.

James Walker was made captain of the H.C.S. Macqueen it's when he would've purchased this highly accurate pocket chronometer from Barrauds - one of the most respected makers of the day. He performed four round trips to St Helena, Bengal and China, but in 1828 he had a violent and public altercation with Colonel Sir E.K. Williams of the 41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot. Although Williams was cleared at the subsequent Court-Martial, the incident seems to have precipitated Walker's early departure from Company service.

26/09/2026

has been shot again😂. Just finishing the photography for the catalogue

25/09/2026

Spent today laying out the catalogue

25/09/2026

Built by Rickmers of Bremerhaven & completed in 1902 for £43,000, Herzogin Cecilie was one of the last sailing trading ships built; registered at an impressive 3,242 tons, she was manned by cadets during her first twelve years of service for the Norddeutscher Lloyd Line.
She was only competitive against steamships on longer trade routes that required the routine rounding of Cape Horn & were not ideal for steamers, as coal was in short supply there.

Interned in Chile during WW1 & then transferred in 1921 to Finnish ownership, she made several record runs from Australia to Europe with grain in what became an annual ‘grain-race '.

In January 1936 she sailed from Port Lincoln as one of 16 ships bringing home grain, making the passage in 86 days. After calling at Falmouth, she struck the Ham Stone at
4am in foggy conditions & was beached.

The Salcombe lifeboat took off most of her crew and then stood by. She lay there for seven weeks before 464 tons of wheat were removed, lightening her enough to tow her into Starehole Bay near Salcombe, her decks awash & her holds full of water; there she beached again & was broken up in situ, with the remnants of her cargo rotting in the hold.

22/09/2026