AFTER A WATERLOO ARTEFACT? STRAND OF NAPOLEON’S HAIR IN DORSET AUCTION ^∧

Lock ‘of Napoleon’s hair’ and accompanying letter

By TraceyR, www.blackmorevale.co.uk, 2^nd June 2015{3}

Always one for the weird and the wonderful, Cottees of Wareham have stumbled upon a single hair from Napoleon Bonaparte the Great Emperor’s head. Whether it was pinched when he was held in confinement on Saint Helena during the last six years of his life is a matter of conjecture but this is indeed an extraordinary find. The vendor’s family had stored the hair in a chest of drawers for many years before it fell in to auctioneer John Condie’s hands. As this year is the 200^thanniversary year of the Battle of Waterloo the hair is sure to fetch some attention, with collectors from near and far hoping to own a piece of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. The hair is held down with red wax and includes a note stating that the content of the small fold of paper is “A single hair of Napoleon Bonaparte’s head, 29^th August 1816” and another stating “Obtained 5^th May 1821” - the date of his death.

This curiosity is estimated at £100-£200 and will be offered for sale on Tuesday 9^th June at Cottees Auctions in Wareham.

Author comment

Personally, before I bid even 200 pence for this item I’d like to see evidence that it came from the great man himself; maybe a DNA test that shows it was Napoleon’s, or at least that it is genetically related to all the other “strands of Napoleon’s hair” that seem to be floating around.

Update

The hair actually sold for £130 to an unidentified individual from the Dorset area.

See also: Napoleon Bonaparte