Duke of Wellington's tiny clothes to be auctioned in Glasgow — cone not included

Clothes from the Duke of Wellington are to be auctioned in Glasgow next month.

The Duke, now more famous in the city for his cone-wearing habits than his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo or time as Prime Minister, owned the monogrammed nightcaps and waistcoat towards the end of his life.

The waistcoat, just 44cm in length, puts the Duke's height at just a shade over 5'1" tall. His famously short adversary, Napoleon Bonaparte, is thought to have been around 5'6".

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Each of the items is embroidered with a 'W' beneath a coronet.

The items are to be sold as a set and valued at between £500 and £700. James Bruce, general valuer at McTear’s Auctioneers in Govan, said: “Being one of the most important and famous figures within his own lifetime—and also to this day—when he died, I think a lot of items were retained and given out or taken by people.”

The items come from the Duke’s later life. Mr Bruce added: “A wealthy gentleman of this period would have had numerous night caps, and the night caps themselves have numbers on them. They could relate to some sort of household system of when they were to be washed and worn; that’s a speculative idea, but it could very well be the case.

“What is incredible is that these items are noticeably small. Everyone knows that going back to the 19th century and even the early 20th century, people were a lot smaller, but these items are noticeably small.”

The items come with two ‘letters of provenance’. The earlier parchment note dates from the mid-19th century and is signed by John J. Watts, Captain of Walmer Castle, to the ‘Honourable Herbert Meade’.

It reads: “A night cap that belonged to the late Field Marshall, The Duke of Wellington who died at Walmer Castle 14th September 1852.”

There is also an early 20th century note that lists the three items and that they belonged to the ‘Great Duke of Wellington’.

The items are to be auctioned at McTear’s Auctioneers on February 12 at 10am. More details can be found here.

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