Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hammond’s Navy Office document box

24 Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hammond’s Navy Office document box

Height: 4in (10cm) Width: 13 ½ in (34cm) Depth: 6in (15.5cm)

This hinged rectangular leather box has a brass carrying handle and a Gascoigne lock with the original key. The top is stamped ‘Sr. Andrew Hammond, Navy Office’ with the interior lined in marbled paper and green velvet. With paper label for ‘T Powell Messengers Trunk Maker, No 341 Oxford St London.’. English, circa 1815. Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hammond, 1st Baronet (1738-1828) was Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1781 to 1782 and Comptroller of the Navy from 1794-1828. He joined the Royal Navy in 1753 and served during the Seven Years War and the American Revolution. He made commander within 12 years of entry and captain by 1770. This document box evidently dates from his final role as Comptroller of the Navy between 1794 and his death in 1828. He also sat on the court-martial for the crew members involved in the Mutiny on the Bounty. Thomas Powell was a trunk and messenger box maker listed in the 1815 London Directory at the above address. Some of his trade labels bear the statement ‘Original Maker to His Majesty’.