CAPTAIN ROTHERAM'S SURVIVING COPY OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA DAMAGED IN HIS CABIN ABOARD COLLINGWOOD'S FLAGSHIP, H.M.S. ROYAL SOVEREIGN, AT THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR, 1805

Captain Rotheram’s own copy present in his cabin in Royal Sovereign where it received damage and scorching during the Battle of Trafalgar when “an enemy’s shot pass’d thro’ the shelf”: 'Encyclopædia Britannica; OR, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature. Vol XV..' (of 18), Third Edition, Edinburgh, 1797, 4to.,, frontispiece inscribed by Captain Rotheram stating that this book be Preserved as a relic of that memorable day with the persuasion that into whose ever hands it may fall that its value & respect may be held in estimation… -- 10 ½ x 8 ¾ in. (260mm x 220mm), later repairs and preserved in a mahogany display cabinet; together with “Edward Rotheram Esqr. Captain of His Majesty's Ship Royal Sovereign in the Battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of October 1805”, published by R.Pollard, 5 April 1806, engraving, framed, overall measurements -- 20 x 17½in. (51 x 44cm.)

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Provenance: Captain Edward Rotheram (1753-1830) and thence by descent.

Captain Edward Rotheram, RN, the second son of Dr. John Rotheram of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was born in December 1753 and, having gained a practical knowledge of navigation in the Newcastle coal trade, entered the navy in 1777 as an able seaman in the Centaur. Remaining in her till April 1780, by the time he transferred into the Barfleur, he had attained the rank of master’s mate but was made temporary lieutenant when ordered to join the Monarch that October. Monarch was assigned to Sir Samuel Hood’s squadron in the Caribbean and Rotheram saw action in her at St Kitts (January 1782) and at Rodney’s victory at the Saintes (April 1782). Commissioned lieutenant in April 1783, he spent four years on half-pay until appointed first to the Bombay Castle in 1787 and then to the Culloden in which he served at the Glorious First of June, 1794. This led to his promotion as commander and, after serving on several stations, he was made post-captain in 1800. Paid off in 1802 for two years, he was next appointed to Dreadnought as Collingwood’s flag captain, following him into Royal Sovereign on 10^th October 1805. To begin with Collingwood had a rather low opinion of Rotheram, whom said retained “…the stile [sic] of the Coal trade about him...” but his contempt soon dissolved after the courage Rotheram showed at Trafalgar. When the quarter-deck of Royal Sovereign was raked by enemy musket fire and Rotheram was urged to remove his epaulettes and gold-laced hat lest he be targeted by a sniper, he replied “Let me alone, I have always fought in a cocked hat and I always will”.

After Trafalgar, he was given command of the Bellerophon, whose captain had been killed in the battle, but it proved his last command. Created C.B. in 1815, he was later appointed a captain of Greenwich Hospital but died of an apoplectic fit in November 1830.

Condition Report

water and smoke damage, spine lacking, boards detached

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