718. ARTHUR WELLESLEY WELLINGTON (1769 - 1852) British general and statesman, called the "Iron Duke", he crushed French forces under Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo. Third-person A.L.S. signed in text "F.M. The Duke of Wellington," 1p., 8vo. [London], April 19, 1851, to his superior "The Lord Seymour" [Office of Woods at Whitehall]. While serving as Hyde Park Ranger, Wellington writes, in full: "F[ield] M[arshal] The Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to Lord Seymour and incloses [not present] a copy of a letter he has received from the Secretary of Her Majesty's Commissioner for the Exhibition of 1851, and a copy of his answer [not present]". In very good condition. Docket on verso reads: "Exhibition of 1851 The Duke of Wellington to Lord Seymour enclosing correspondence respecting the placing of an East Indian Tent and 30 Arch Tents on the Grass outside the [Crystal Palace] Building. April 19th 1851". The Crystal Palace Exhibition, which opened on May 1, 1851 was more than a happening. The dazzling exhibitions were also a triumph of technological communication, as inventions and artifacts and manufactures from all over the world were gathered and organized in one place to reveal the realities of creativity at mid-century. By October 7, 1851, a record 109,000 people had came through the magnificent structure located in Hyde Park, many attendees having arrived by ship from the Continent and even from America. $500 - 600