A little over 18 months ago, I saw an advertisement in my local paper, "The Cornishman" announcing that a Napoleonic Exhibition was to be held at Penzance Library, and timed to commemorate the 178th anniversary of the great Battle of Waterloo. Although my wife and myself were due to drive to London that day in readiness for a trip to the battlefield at Waterloo that very weekend, we put back our departure time in order to attend the exhibition. Discovery There was a very interesting display of instruments and equipment as used by the surgeons and physicians of the Grande Armee, staged by members of the Napoleonic Association, some of whom were in full uniform. Also on display however, was a magnificent collection of prints of a very large number of personalities, battles, events, maps and monuments etc. from the Napoleonic period. The majority of those featured were military and French, although there were some diplomats and politicians etc. and a good, representative `selection from other participating nations. Portraits Among the portraits are, as might be expected, many of Napoleon and of the Duke of Wellington. Some of the other personalities to feature include Louis-Alexandre Berthier, le Marechal Jean Lannes, Duc de Montebello, Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, the Duke of Reichstadt, Prince Eugene, Daendels, Heinrich Prince von Preussen, le Marechal Andre Massena, Archduke Charles, Colonel Don Julien Sanchez, von Holtzendorff, Tsar Alexander I, the Cossack leader Platoff, Francois Chabot, Malet of conspiracy fame, Murat, Lafayette, Baron Chasse, Geraud-Christophe Duroc, Bolivar, Moreau and many, many more. Maps & Battle Scenes Many maps and plans are also shown including Malta, Vimiero, the principal states of Europe as they were in 1793, Tarragona, Brussels, plans of the Arc de Triomphe, Elba, the Basque Roads, Toulon, Cadiz, Hamburg, Egypt etc. etc. Battle scenes include Rolica, Waterloo, Assaye, Busaco, Krasnoe, the Arapiles, Mondovi, Vich, the Bridge of Goy, the Great Redoubt at Borodino, Valmy, Talavera and many more. Among the many artists, engravers, and publishers etc. are Bellange, Colburn, Bowyer, Pirenger, Gihault Freres, Engelman, A. Appiani, F. Bartolozzi, Thomas Kelly, William Heath, Lemercier, Thomas Crabb, Bertaux, Deluch, Sutherland, J. Luffman, Samuel Leigh and H. Grellier. The building in which the collection is housed is a subscription library in Morrab Gardens, not to be confused with Penzance Public Library which is in nearby Morrab Road. I have since made a number of visits to the library and have still seen less than half of the contents. The collection is particularly attractive from my own point of view, for most, if not all, of the French commanders are featured, and those are my favourite subjects. A start has recently been made on the painstaking job of cataloguing the contents of this fine collection. A task that has rather surprisingly, not previously been undertaken. The Founder The man responsible for the existence of the collection in the first place, was one Thomas Dawson, the second son of John Dawson of Salford, Lancashire. Dawson himself was born in 1811 at Allen Bank, Grasmere, Westmorland. Apparently he had just the one brother, John, who was three years older than himself, having been born in 1808. Dawson began his collection in 1826 at the age of 15. Three years later in 1829 he attended Trinity College, Cambridge, for a short time, paying his own way before moving to Downing College in 1831. Both Dawson and his brother John were destined to enjoy highly successful careers in the legal profession. In November 1833 our benefactor was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, and six years later, at the age of 28 he was called to the Bar. Having taken his BA in 1837, he graduated as an MA in 1840. He married and had three daughters although it appears that only two, Sophia and Martha Beatrice survived him. He and his family lived variously at Grasmere, Taunton and at various addresses in London. Dawson's wife died when he was in his mid 50's, at which time he turned more to what was by now his principal pastime, sailing on his yacht "Shamrock". It was in June 1869, when he was 58, that Dawson made the apparently sudden decision to dispose of his collection. This surprising move came just after the "Sainsbury Collection", then acknowledged to be the premier collection on the Napoleonic subject, had been dispersed, leading Dawson to believe that his was now the finest of its kind in the world. It seems he had simply outgrown his interest in the collection and though still very proud of it, it now, took second place to his love of sailing. The first part of the collection arrived in Penzance in 1869 followed by a second part four years later. In 1874 came what were collectively known as the "Napoleonic Relics", and finally in 1877, three portraits were given. Relics The "Relics" included a piece of wood claimed to have come from Napoleon's original coffin on Saint Helena, and a lock of the late Emperor's hair. Whether these artefacts were genuine, was never established and their present whereabouts is unknown. Among the other "Relics" and known very much to exist was Lord Nelson's sword belt which can presently be seen in Penwith Museum. The three portraits were, one of Dawson himself depicted wearing the Freemason's livery of the Order of the Temple and painted by Robert Clothier. This painting is still in the possession of the Library and can be seen hanging on the staircase at Morrab House where it has been displayed since December 1877. The second portrait was known as "the Empress" and was said to be of Marie-Louise, but was more likely thought to be of Josephine. Dawson himself paid £100 for this picture. In 1980, the library was in need of funds to carry out urgent repairs to some of its books and decided to sell some of its paintings. This particular work which realised £ 3,000, was one of the items disposed of. The third picture, said to be of Nelson's daughter Horatia and understood to have been painted by a member of the Hamilton family, was never delivered to the Library and its current location remains unknown. Although Dawson's gift contained much more than the Napoleonic collection, it is these that the writer is solely interested in, the remainder having no connection whatsoever with either the Emperor or indeed France. It is understood that the prints were received loose. The contents are believed to number around 3,000 items and towards the end of the 19th century, they were rather haphazardly pasted into eleven very large and very heavy leather bound books. It appears that little attempt was made to place the collection in any semblance of order, chronological or otherwise, and the viewer should not be surprised to find items relating to the Italian Campaign intermingled with those of Waterloo, and those depicting Revolutionary events appearing adjacent to those of the Peninsular Wars. However, to the true Napoleonic enthusiast, this does not detract too much from the overall content of the collection. Over the years, these large volumes, some of which probably weigh in excess of 25 lbs, have shown some degree of wear and tear, as have also their valuable contents. Back to Dawson To get back to Dawson himself, although he may well have sailed into Mounts Thay on his yacht and at some time anchored off Penzance, there is no evidence that he actually set foot in the town, let alone visited the Library. However, he explained in a letter dated June 1874, that the donation of the Collection to the library was a direct result of his friendship with a local gentleman, Mr William Bolitho Junior of Ponsandane, Penzance, a member of the well known Cornish banking family. Dawson died in June 1895 at the ripe old age of 84 at "Shamrock Villa, (presumably named after his beloved yacht), Bloemfontain Road, off Uxbridge Road, West London. A yacht named "Shamrock", a house called "Shamrock Villa", I wonder if there was any Irish blood in the Dawson family. From what I can gather, this wonderful collection has received little publicity, and knowledge of its existence appears to be very limited. It is well worth a visit and excellent value for its £1 admission fee. The Library is currently open Tuesday to Friday inclusive 10am to 4pm and on Saturday mornings 10 am to 1 pm. If anyone would like further information about the collection they can contact me at 4, Parc-An-Pons, Green Lane, Marazion, Cornwall TF17 0HQ. It is hoped that in the not too distant future, a complete catalogue of the contents of the collection will be published. Anyone wishing to receive news of this catalogue is also welcome to get in touch with me. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #21 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com