The Martial Achievements of Great Britain and Her Allies from 1799 to 1815, by James Jenkins, London, 1815. Folio. (binding 35 x 29 cms, Text / Plates 34 x 27 cms) Engraved title with un-coloured vignette, hand-coloured aquatint frontispiece additional title, hand coloured engraved coat of arms of the Duke of Wellington, hand coloured engraved portrait of the Duke of Wellington, List of Subscribers, Introduction, Table of Contents and 51 hand coloured plates of battles by Thomas Sutherland after William Heath. Many of the original tissue guards are still in place.. Plate for The Death of Sir John Moore and numerous text pages are watermarked J WHATMAN 1812. Contemporary mahogany coloured calf, covers elaborately tooled and panelled in gilt and blind, spine with wide semi-raised bands in six compartments, lettered in the second compartment, the others with a repeat decoration in gilt, (spine is expertly re-backed), with brown marble endpapers.

A fine copy of this beautifully-illustrated record of the battles and campaigns during the war against Napoleon's France: "A brilliant and worthy record of a brilliant period in England's history" (Hardie). First published in 1814-1815, Jenkins' Martial Achievements enjoyed enduring popularity, with the result that it was re-issued several times. The present issue is the scarce first issue, with pre-publication watermarks to both text and plates, the rare portrait of Wellington and the subscriber's list. Whilst this work does include nine scenes from locations as diverse as India, Israel, Egypt, Italy, South America and Russia, it is essentially a record of the Peninsular War from August 1808 when Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington), landed in Portugal, through until the ultimate defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in June 1815. Each plate captures a pivotal moment during an important battle: the text describes the scene pictured and then, using excerpts from contemporary bulletins, dispatches, letters, and speeches gives an account of the action as a whole, often ending on a fascinating, but more sombre note by recording the names and regiments of the senior officers killed.

With the brilliant strategist Wellington at their head, the British and their Portuguese and Spanish allies fought to eject Napoleon and the French firstly from Portugal, and then Spain. In a seven year period, during which over a million people lost their lives, the French (with the most experienced and successful army in Europe) went from being the masters of a demoralized and all-but-defeated Spain to being ejected forever from the Iberian Peninsular, having been repulsed during a long series of engagements against Spanish irregulars supporting Wellington's Anglo Portuguese Army. Many of these engagements are pictured and described here in a work that Prideaux notes is "worthy of its theme, one [could not] desire a finer record of heroic deeds". Scenes include The Battles of Roleia;  Vimiera;  Corunna;  Grigo;  Talavera;  Busaco; Barrosa;  Pombal;  Fuentes d’Onoro, Albuera,  Siege of Badajos, Siege of Ciudad Roderigo, Salamanca;  Seville;  Vittoria; The Storming of St. Sebastian; The Pyrennees, Orthes, Toulouse, The Entrance of the Allies into Paris; and The Battle of Quatre Bras and two plates of the Battle of Waterloo.

The plates are all the work of aquatint engraver Thomas Sutherland, who specialized in hunting, coaching, military, and naval subjects: his earliest dated work is from 1804, and shortly thereafter was employed by London publisher Rudolph Ackermann. Here, Sutherland works from originals by William Heath who is now best known for his caricatures, political cartoons, and images which offered a visual commentary on contemporary life. Reference: Tooley English Books with Coloured Plates, 1790-1860, Item 281 for Jenkins’ Martial Achievements.