Heightened with white. Inscribed by the artist 'Burnham Church', this is where Nelson's father was rector at the time of his birth in 1758. The drawing is the first of a group of 11 designs (out of 32 by Foster) for wood-engravings to illustrate the 1854 edition of Southey's 'Life of Nelson' published by David Bogue, London. With an image of the rectory at Burnham Thorpe, it was one of twin vignette headings to Chapter 1. The title here is as published. The others, not all in necessarily finished form and not in chronological order, are PAE5374-5383. Those into which Foster introduces an extra colour (a pale ochre/orange) in addition to pale blue are generally also colour-tinted the same way in reproduction, rather than just printed as wood-engraved line. Other images in the edition were done by Edward Duncan (10) or reproduced pictures by Richard Westall, Sir Thomas Lawrence and other uncredited but mostly identifiable sources.

The full list of Foster's contributions to the 56 illustrations is as follows, those with the related drawings in the NMM collection marked *: Nelson taking soundings in the Channel, p.15; Birth-place of Nelson, Burnham Thorpe/ Church at Burnham-Thorpe [this one *], p. 17; Nelson at the brook, p.19; Nelson put on board his ship during a storm * [two related drawings], p. 41; Nelson presented at court, p.46; The 'Boreas' at St Kitts, p. 47; Chase of a French frigate, p. 49; A race to the mast-head, p. 51; Nelson and Mrs Nisbet's child *, p. 60; Nelson birds'-nesting with his wife*, p. 68; Nelson and his pony, p. 70; The 'Agamemnon', p.72; Bastia, p. 73; Action between the 'Agamemnon' and the Ca Ira' *, p. 75; Nelson's departure from Corsica, p. 115; Nelson boards the 'San Josef', p. 131; Nelson hauled on board the 'Theseus', p. 148; The English squadron, p. 149; Blowing up of 'L' Orient' [after Arnald]; The English fleet at Syracuse *, p. 161; Nelson wounded at the Nile *, p. 171; Naples, p. 185; Nelson's reception at Naples after the Battle of the Nile *, p.187; Nelson and the German pastor, p.239; Cronenburg [Kronborg] Castle, p. 241; Battle of Copenhagen, p. 243; Nelson sealing his letter to the Crown Prince of Denmark, p. 271; The flotilla at Boulogne, p. 285; The English squadron before Gibraltar, p. 326; Arrival of the 'Victory' and 'Superb' at Portsmouth, p. 328; Nelson and Lady Hamilton at Merton, p. 331; Nelson's departure from Portsmouth *, p. 336; Death of Nelson at Trafalgar, p. 352. [PvdM 10/15]