Great Britain, Waterloo and Peninsula Medals, Plate XXXVI, Wood Engraving, 1844

This original antique wood engraving, colored by hand, shows British medals of the Napoleonic Wars. At the top (20) a pair of gold medals hangs from a pale blue ribbon: one shows a name within a laurel wreath tied with a bow, the other Britannia seated with a lion and a shield of the Union flag, holding a wreath aloft and a palm, with ships behind. In the center (21) is a gold cross with a lion standing above a small crown at the middle, each arm lettered with a battle name, hung on a red ribbon edged in blue with two gold clasps. At the foot (22) a silver medal is shown from both sides on a red ribbon edged in blue: a winged Victory seated with a palm and an olive branch, and a laureate head in profile to the left.

The running head at upper left reads "GRANDE BRETAGNE" (Great Britain) and the plate number at upper right "XXXVI."; the items are numbered 20 to 22. Medal 20 reads "BADAJOZ". The arms of cross 21 read "NIVE", "BADAJOZ", "ORTHES" and "VITTORIA", and its clasps "Salamanca" and "Talavera", all battles of the Peninsular War. Medal 22 reads "WELLINGTON" above Victory, "WATERLOO" and "JUNE.18." below, and on the reverse "GEORGE P. REGENT", for George, Prince Regent.

The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published by Auguste Wahlen in Brussels by the Librairie Historique-Artistique, rue de Schaerbeek, 12, in 1844; the half title reads Histoire, costumes, décorations de tous les ordres de chevalerie, et marques d'honneur. Auguste Wahlen was the pen name of the Belgian writer Jean-François-Nicolas Loumyer (1801 to 1875), and the title page lists his own knighthoods in the orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil. The illustrations are relief prints, wood engravings colored by hand with watercolor.

The Waterloo medal makes this a natural plate for anyone interested in Wellington's campaigns.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.