Napoleon Bonaparte's hair for sale – French tyrant’s barnet is Dorchester auction lot
A lock of Napoleon Bonaparte's hair taken from the French dictator's head while he was in exile has emerged for sale 200 years later.
The strands of grey hair were given by the emperor to his servant during the six years he spent on St Helena following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
A note of provenance with the hair states: "Hair of Napoleon given by Marchand, the Emperor's Valet de Chambre when in St Helena." Louis Marchand became a loyal servant to Napoleon in 1811 and followed him to his first exile to the Italian island of Elba and then to St Helena, a British territory in the south Atlantic.
The dictator dominated European affairs for nearly two decades and his infamy means that any items linked to him are considered collectable.
The gray strands are expected to fetch £400 at auction.
We anticipate interest from collectors around the world who want a little piece of history
Hair from a horse that took part in the Battle of Waterloo is also expected to sell for about £400.
A note with it says the horse carried Blucher in the Battle of Waterloo and is signed 'Somerset', which could possibly be Lord Edward Somerset.
The items will be sold by Duke's of Dorchester in Dorset.
Timothy Medhurst from the auction house said: "These two relics have come from the same vendor and are especially relevant this year - the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
"Napoleon's hair is held down with some red wax and has an historic note about where it came from.
"A theory had been put forward that Napoleon was killed by arsenic poisoning and a previous sample of his hair showed high levels of the drug.
"However, that theory is now thought to be unlikely and it is far more probable that he died of stomach cancer as the original autopsy concluded.
"The hair from the charger is a rare item of something that actually took part in the battle in June 1815.
"Now 200 years after Napoleon was finally defeated there is still huge interest in him and the battles of that era.
"We anticipate interest from collectors around the world who want a little piece of history." The auction takes place on Thursday.
