Wednesday 13 June 2012

Rare Napoleon Bonaparte letter in English sold in French auction for around $410,000

  

 
A rare Napoleon Bonaparte letter, written in English, was sold at Osenat auction in Fontainebleau, Paris for 325,000 euros (around $410,000), which fetched more than five times its estimated selling price. Napoleon Bonaparte wrote the one-page letter on March 9, 1816 while he was on exile in Saint Helena after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and was then trying to learn English.


Bonaparte‘s letter, which has some grammatical errors, was a homework exercise and was addressed to his companion in exile, Emmanuel, the Comte de las Cases, who had been teaching him English that time.


“It’s two o’clock after midnight, I have enow sleep, I go then finish the night with you.” Napoleon Bonaparte wrote in the first part of the letter, asking later his English teacher to correct his mistakes.


“He shall land above seven day a ship from Europe that we shall give account from anything who this shall have been even to day of first January thousand eight hundred sixteen.” Napoleon Bonaparte, who passed away in May 5, 1821, wrote in the latter part.


Apparently, he also mentioned “Four o’clock in the morning” meaning it took him around 2 hours to finish the letter; with auction house president Jean-Pierre Osenat noting that Bonaparte had a great admiration for England.

Rare Napoleon Bonaparte letter




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