1852. Small 8vo, pp. [ii] blank, 64, [2] blank; with title-page vignette, frontispiece portrait of Wellington and three full-page engravings; printed on ‘enamel’ gloss paper entirely in gilt within double ruled gilt border; some occasional minor foxing and soiling, but otherwise clean and bright; with faint pencil inscription on front free endpaper, but somewhat illegible; bound in dark red morocco, spine in compartments with raised bands tooled in gilt, covers elaborately tooled in gilt with ornate design within double gilt ruled border, with title in gilt on upper cover, with inner gilt dentelles, and all edges gilt, spine a little darkened, with small mark on upper cover, covers a little soiled with slight wear to extremities and corners; an appealing copy. First and only edition of this most attractively produced celebration of the life of Arthur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), and printed entirely in gold. One of the leading military and political figures in Britain during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this luxuriously produced work provides a brief summary of his life and military feats and victories, commencing in India, and ending with the Battle of Waterloo. Four illustrations, also in gold, accompany the text and include a frontispiece of Wellington astride his equally famous horse Copenhagen (after Sir Thomas Lawrence), and three depiction's of his famous battles of Assaye, Vittoria, and Waterloo, all signed by ‘Adeney’. The work concludes with a four page chronological record of the ‘Principle Events in the Life of the Duke of Wellington’. Wellington died suddenly at his residence at Walmer Castle on September 14th 1852, and according to a contemporary advertisement in Bent’s Literary Advertiser the present Memorial work was published on November 15th, three days before his State funeral on November 18th.