Lock of Napoleon's hair up for auction

FoxNews.com/Science ^ | Aug 17, 2018 | James Rogers

[ETL]

A host of historic artifacts, including a lock of Napoleon’s hair, will be up for auction in the U.K. on Saturday.

The unusual object is in an early 19th-century composite locket frame with a lock of hair from Napoleon’s wife, Empress Josephine.

“These are remarkable history,” auctioneer Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge & Son told Fox News.

A manuscript note accompanying the locket frame states:

“The Emperor Napoleon's hair cut off after his death given to the Countess of Ranfurly by Madame La Croix housekeeper to the Empress Josephine from the time when she was Madame De Beauharnais to her death.”

Josephine de Beauharnais was Napoleon’s first wife and Empress of the French from 1804 until her divorce from Napoleon in 1810.

The lot has a pre-sale estimate of $892 to $1,530.

Napoleon is one of the key figures in European history and remains a source of fascination to collectors.

An extremely rare ‘bicorne,’ or 2-pointed hat, that was worn by the French leader at the Battle of Waterloo was recently sold at auction in France for $325,000.

The locket frame containing the locks of hair is part of an eclectic set of artifacts amassed by the late collector David Gainsborough-Roberts.

Another item of from his collection up for auction on Saturday is a fragment of cloth reputed to come from the flag of HMS Victory, the flagship of Napoleon’s nemesis Admiral Nelson. The lot has a pre-sale estimate of $1,275 to $1,913.

[SunkenCiv]

There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright... wait, what?

[ETL]

Thanks! Great stuff.

[ETL]

There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright...

“Fernando”

Can you hear the drums Fernando?
I remember long ago another starry night like this

In the firelight Fernando
You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar

I could hear the distant drums
And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar

They were closer now Fernando
Every hour every minute seemed to last eternally

I was so afraid Fernando
We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die

And I’m not ashamed to say
The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando

They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando .............”

ABBA Fernando (Live Germany ‘76) 2001 Remastered audio HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRqSvJrmiM