Angels & Ancestors

[37a] A Few Strands of Napoleon’s Hair Contained in a Paper Wallet Inscribed in Ink Hair of Emperor Napoleon Cut from the Side of His Head After Death at St Helena in the Presence of Major W. Crocket to Whom it was Presented by One of the Lieut- and given by Crocket to Me at Portsmouth when Assisting with Her Return Home s i z e : 6 cm x 3 cm – 2¼ ins x 1¼ ins p rov e na nc e : Ex Private English collection After his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo under the command of the Duke of Wellington, the British exiled Napoleon to the remote island of St Helena in the South Atlantic. There he lived in isolation at Longwood, where he died six years later at the age of fifty-one.