Duke of Wellington Signed Envelope.

WELLESLEY, Arthur.

Item Number: 53079

Envelope signed (‘Wellington’) and addressed in the Duke’s hand to a recipient in Earlham, Norwich, postmarked “2 Feb 1834”, mounted together with a color reproduction of the portrait of Wellington by Thomas Lawrence and medal ribbons of the same kind as those Wellington was awarded. Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 12.5 inches by 17 inches.

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain. His defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 put him in the first rank of Britain's military heroes. Wellesley rose to prominence as a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, and was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading the allied forces to victory against the French Empire at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following Napoleon's exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the allied army which, together with a Prussian army under Blücher, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Wellington's battle record is exemplary; he ultimately participated in some 60 battles during the course of his military career. Wellington is famous for his adaptive defensive style of warfare, resulting in several victories against numerically superior forces while minimizing his own losses. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time, and many of his tactics and battle plans are still studied in military academies around the world. After the end of his active military career, Wellington returned to politics. He was twice British prime minister as part of the Tory party: from 1828 to 1830, and for a little less than a month in 1834. He oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829, but opposed the Reform Act 1832. He continued as one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement and remained Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until his death.