Signatures / Inscriptions: Initialled at lower right "MB" or "ITB"

General Note: This miniature shows William Bligh in the uniform of either a Rear-Admiral or Vice-Admiral, ranks he achieved from 1814. However damage to it makes it impossible to accurately determine his rank. The miniature apparently sustained damage in the late nineteenth century when a previous owner, William Russell Bligh, left it in a bank cellar where it was 'infused by damp.' : see William Russell Bligh to F.M. Bladen 6 March 1898 ML MSS 155