The handkerchief of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

A uniquely rare find of our store is a thin cotton handkerchief with the monogram of the French emperor embroidered on it, which he used during his exile to St. Helena. Napoleon Bonaparte was obsessed with cleanliness, took a bath 3-4 times a day and constantly changed his shirts. He also used 20-30 liters of cologne per month, and poured the cologne on a handkerchief, after which he wiped himself, so that handkerchiefs were an invariable attribute of his costume, and the best embroiderers of the capital, and later seamstresses and French firms hired by the English administration of the island, worked on their manufacture. Today we present one of these scarves to your attention.

The handkerchief is decorated in an old frame, on the back of which there are remnants of a memorable text written with a pen, which is extremely poorly readable today. The dates 181 are visible. (?) This is probably the time of the scarf's manufacture. In the lower part of the frame is a modern paper tag with a transcript of the above text in French " "A handkerchief with the monogram of Napoleon I, which once belonged to him, embroidered in the house of Balbatre the elder (with a torn edge and small traces of repair). (Island) St. Helena. The collection of Charles Crovezier, the heir of Joseph, in turn the heir of Balbatre the elder. The embroidery factory was founded in 1804 on 17 Richet Street in Paris. Specialized workshops in Nancy." Balbatre the Elder (Balbâtre Aîné) is the surname of famous textile and embroidery manufacturers in France. The company in Nancy (rue de Stanislas, 60) was large — in the 1820s it employed about 2,400 people, i.e. it was a mass machine embroidery production. She specialized in "fine sewing". Their main competitor was the Chenut family firm. Office in Paris was located in the 1830s at 6 du Mail Street.

This text is confirmed by the Marquesan crown above the monogram of Bonaparte. If the "N" and the two mirrored letters "P" on the sides definitely mean "Napoleon Primo" ("Napoleon the First", Latin), the crown in our case is not an imperial one. Judging by the explanatory inscription, the handkerchief was used by Napoleon on St. Helena Island, i.e. after his abdication from the throne in 1815, therefore, when he no longer had the right to the imperial crown (more precisely, the English administration of the island did not recognize his imperial title, often calling Napoleon "general", and not "the emperor"). Thus, during his exile to the island, this crown denoted his status as a titled noble (marquis), but not the emperor.

An interesting feature of the design is the color of the substrate under the handkerchief – it was originally green, but from time to time and sunlight, the paint faded, retaining only the imprint of the handkerchief, which had not been removed from the frame for many years. The frame size is 235*287 mm. Guarantee of authenticity.