The Table Designer Gets No Credit

Here it is.

THEE Table.

The table Napoleon signed his abdication papers on.

Can you imagine it? The document was presented. Pen and ink was provided.

And then he signed it all away. Right on this table top!

Next stop the island of Elba.

On April 11th, 1814, Napoleon had formally abdicated from the throne as Emperor of France. The Allied European nations, Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau which ultimately set the stipulations for the fate of Napoleon.

I saw this table (and took this photo) at the Chateau Fontainbleau earlier this month. April 9th to be specific, and no mention was made of the event at all.
I am not sure if anyone else in the room was as impressed as I was. I think they were still mumbling about the bedroom we had just passed through and wondering if the Pope did sleep there. Anyway, I like to think about the person who designed this table. Maybe he was a humble wood worker. Maybe he was a big time furniture designer. Whichever he was, I wonder if he ever imagined that his table would need to be preserved for all time....not for how it looked, but for what was done on it.

Oh, and here is a little peak at Nappy's bathroom. History reveals that he spent a lot of time in the tub...reading and dictating letters. This small tub doesn't look very comfortable to me. I hope he had some sort of a pillow to rest against.

Petite Malmaison - Hmmmmmmm

This is Malmaison. Josephine's favorite and final home.
Right now it is a well maintained museum. I am not sure if their funding is adequate or not, but I can say that the building and grounds are beautifully maintained. The art and objects are it contains are priceless. Malmaison is a well advertised museum and many of the tour groups advertise daily excursions here.

This is the Petite Malmaison. Privately owned. And by private, I mean people actually own this chateau and live here. To be specific, a mother and son. This is not a national museum and it definitely is not well funded.

This is what the chateau looked like in Josephine's time. It was a very large green house with a stunning building attached. Josephine would load her guests onto small boats and they would row down the river (or be rowed) to this part of the estate. Luncheons were served here.

I had an opportunity to tour the estate earlier this month and I can't decide if I am disappointed or relieved. On the one hand, it is truly in need of a massive donation to return it to its former grandeur. On the other hand, it might have been torn down as the acreage between it an the main house is now filled with regular homes like any subdivision in a any city in the world.

The owner rents the home out for weddings and other special events. This was the room Josephine entertained in. It is still beautiful. It took my breath away given the state of the grounds prior to entering the home.

Note the leftover food from the last event......

Josephine must be very unsettled by this. I know I am.

New Napoleon vrs Old Napoleon

I have not had that much luck finding Napoleon collectibles in Paris. Well, I should say affordable collectibles. But this month I managed to find several really great pieces in Paris.
My favorite find is the big book entitled "NAPOLEON son histoire racontee par un vieux soldat dans une grange" (history told by an old man). I bought a first edition in the antique book seller market for $18 Euros. My copy is no 3680 first published November 30th, 1927. Its a children's book I have not seen before. Some of the Napoleon images are just excellent and there is a hilarious centre spread of Jachim Murat looking as over dressed as ever. I was so happy that the book wasn't that expensive that I managed to buy the two lithographs as well.
A few days later I found a new reprinted copy of the book in the Louvre's children's book store. A new addition is $85 Euros. I think I did very well.

New Napoleon Statue

I have been to the Louvre in Paris a half dozen times. Naturally, I go to spend time with the world's greatest painting "The Coronation." But, since I am there, I do wander throughout the facility. This excellent mantle piece was something I discovered by accident on this trip in the decorative arts section. This is the first statue of Napoleon that I thought was very life like.
I did scare another patron though.
My camera has a "no flash" option. This is very important when you are trying to be stealth about taking a quick picture in a museum. The rules of picture taking can vary from floor to floor. So in this room, I happily set myself up to take this picture when I heard a little "ohhh" behind me.
Preparing for my one millionth "no photo s'il vous plait" I turned and the lady saw my camera.
She was quite relieved and pointed to Nappy's head.
I forget that sometimes the camera shoots out a little red light in the no flash setting.
She was worried that she had seen the statue come to life.
Nope, you weren't seeing anything strange.
Besides. Who would think he would glow red and not white?

Baby Napoleon

Is this baby Napoleon? I have wanted to find a picture of Napoleon as a child for some time...but all I seem to locate are images of his son or all the many nieces and nephews. But I think this is Nappy. I was in Paris this month and found this circular framed peice in a collection of antique prints of Napoleon. But is it Napoleon? The vendor said it definitely was. Close inspection shown me that the Napoleonic Order pin is in the baby's hand....so that would make sense.
And the face is very Napoleon. Now to track down the artist who made this engraving: H Lauquit.

Blogging Update

Hello friends,
To spare you the trouble of clicking here every other day, I wanted to let you know I won't be posting for a little while. If you are a regular, you know I usually post a little something often.
But for now, life is intervening a little and I need to be focussed elsewhere.
I should be back by April 15th.