£1,200
ADMIRAL LORD POPHAM'S FOB SEAL, CIRCA 1790
finely carved 1½in. matrix carved in light red onyx and set in gold fob mount -- 1¾in. (4.5cm) high
Rear Admiral Sir Home Popham (1762-1820) was, by the end of his career, one of the navy's more controversial characters and the coterie of Admirals that came to loathe him included Lord St. Vincent. He is principally remembered today for introducing an ingenious signal code that allowed for complex signals to be displayed quickly and with relatively few flags. It was the system Nelson used at Trafalgar but it wasn't until 1812 the Royal Navy - ever suspicious of clever men - formally introduced it with the definitive edition produced by Popham in 1816.
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