'SIR NATHANIEL DANCE'
published by Charles Turner (1773-1857) after Richard Westall R.A.
mezzotint on wove paper, slight marginal spotting, published by R. Cribb, London, 1805. 355 x 250mm.; together with four further mezzotint portraits, including Sir Charles Saxton Bart and James Hawkins Whitshed Esq.r, by S.W. Reynolds after John Northcote; Sir Henry Fletcher Bart of Ashley Park on Walton-on-Thames, by J. Young after J. Keenan; Sir Charles Hardy Knt., Admiral of the White, Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Ships in the Channel, & Master of Greenwich Hospital by W. Dickinson after George Romney, various conditions
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Nathaniel Dance (1748-1827) was commander in the service of the East India Company. In 1787, after nearly thirty years' service he obtained the command of a ship. Dance was knighted for his successful outmanoeuvring of a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois during the Napoleonic Wars. The company's fleets were prone to French raids, but through skilful seamanship and aggressive tactics he fooled the French commander into thinking his convoy was escorted by powerful naval forces. The French decided not to risk attacking the convoy and, in spite of the considerable disparity of force, Dance compounded the deception by taking his lightly armed merchants and chasing the French away. Dance was rewarded with a knighthood for having saved his convoy from certain destruction.

Condition Report
Charles Hardy: trimmed on all sides, several tears within the title, a long crease along the lower image.

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