The bust was produced in 1881, the year of Disraeli's death, as a commemorative piece. It does not appear in any known surviving Coalbrookdale Company catalogue. Benjamin Disraeli, first Earl of Beaconsfield, was a statesman and served twice as Prime Minister. He was the Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury. The bust was sculpted by Joseph Kershaw who was a leading designer at the Coalbrookdale Company. Kershaw also sat on the committee of the Coalbrookdale Literary and Scientific Institute, an institution established to train students in design and manufacture.