'Tis but a scratch.
Posted on 06/18/2018 3:19:25 PM PDT by BBell
An extremely rare ‘bicorne,’ or 2-pointed hat, that was worn by Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo was sold at auction in France for $325,000 on Monday.
The hat went under the hammer for €280,000 ($325,052) at Lyon-based auction house De Baecque. The bicorne had a pre-sale estimate of €30,000 to €40,000 ($34,881 to $46,441).
De Baecque told Fox News that the hat was bought by a private European collector who is "passionate" about the period of the First French Empire.
The bloody battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, saw Napoleon’s forces defeated by a British-led allied army. By the end of the 10-hour battle, 45,000 soldiers were either dead or wounded, although some estimates put the casualty count even higher. The last military engagement fought by Napoleon, Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic wars.
After Napoleon fled the battlefield, the hat was collected by Dutch Dragoon captain Baron Arnout Jacques van Zuijlen van Nijevelt, according to the auction house.
The hat is one of 120 bicorne hats that Napoleon is believed to have worn during his lifetime. Only 19 of the hats are still in existence, Lyon-based De Baecque says.
“There were always twelve hats in service, each of them having a life of three years; they were renewed at the rate of four a year,” the auction house explains, in a statement. Valets would wear the hats to break them in before they were worn by Napoleon.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I would have bid but my heads not that small.
I’d be interested in the earmuffs that Napoleon wore on the way back from Moscow.
It appears that the hats that Napoleon wore are in short supply.
'Tis but a scratch.
That had to hurt.
That guy had a real bad day . . .
They’re coming to take me away ha ha he he ho ho
yes, it aint worth a sou in my book
Dang. Probably won’t buff out. Any information on that?
I think it was worn by a French cavalry officer at Waterloo.
I prefer tricorne hats myself.
(I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.)
I just know the armor belonged to Antoine Favreau, who was a "Carabinier a Cheval" - part of Napoleon's heavy cavalry - and that June 18, 1815 was his last day on earth.
British-led maybe. But it was the Prussians who saved the day.
That’s a little high for a used hat, especially with so few Hatters around these days who can clean it, block it and put in a new sweat band. It probably too small anyway.
Lot’s of scoliosis bodies turning up in car parks these days. The last one we heard about turned out to be a King.
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