A broadsheet map of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805

A plan of the Battle of Trafalgar, published less than two months after the event, showing the two columns of Royal Navy ships charging into the side of the French line. Above is a sketch map illustrating the position of the battle against the coasts of Spain and Africa. Inserted between the British columns is a vignette scene of Admiral Nelson collapsing on the quarterdeck of H.M.S. Victory, having been hit by a French musket ball. This print would have been published with a letterpress text underneath. However broadsheets such as these, being sold in bookshops & stationers like newspapers, were issued as loose sheets and so were difficult to store safely. Thus surviving examples are rare and often damaged.