Inscribed, 'Departure from Portsmouth' by the artist and also signed with initials 'BF'. The tenth of a group of 11 designs for wood-engravings (from 32 that Foster did) to illustrate the 1854 edition of Southey's 'Life of Nelson' published by David Bogue, London. The others, not all in necessarily finished form and not in chronological order, are PAE5373-PAE5383. This one appears as an unbordered illustration on p.336 and shows Nelson's final embarkation in 'Victory' from the Sally Port at Portsmouth in September 1805, after a brief return from off Cadiz to London for consultations in Whitehall. In December 'Victory' returned briefly to Portsmouth with his body before taking it round to Sheerness for upriver transfer by Admiralty yacht to its lying in state at Greenwich Hospital. 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 title here is as published. For Foster's full contributions to the edition see PAE5373. [PvdM 9/15]