{"product_id":"napoleon-lock-of-hair","title":"Napoleon lock of hair","description":"\u003cp\u003eA lock of approximately 20 strands of Napoleon's dark hair, with superb provenance. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe strands are approx. 2 inches long and neatly tied together. They're presented in a wooden box with a glass panel in the lid (containing a further lock of dark braided hair - origin unknown).  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe hair comes with the original wrapper in which the lock was preserved. Signed by an unidentified individual (P. Trin?) and annotated in their hand: ‘Bonaparte’s hair given by himself to Miss. E. Balcombe of St. Helena who gave it to me’. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLucia Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Balcombe Abell (1802-1871) was an English resident on Saint Helena who, as a teenager, became a close friend of Napoleon during his exile on the island. Napoleon stayed at her family home for the first two months of his exile. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHer relationship with the Emperor aroused suspicion in Governor Hudson Lowe, who suspected her and her family of smuggling secret messages for Napoleon off the island. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe officers and servants who attended Napoleon were jealous of Balcombe, as she could address Bonaparte as ‘Boney’ without being reprimanded by him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe later wrote a book about her friendship with Napoleon: Recollections of Emperor Napoleon. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\"\u003e\u003cem style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eNapoleon is one of history's most iconic figures. As emperor of France, his actions shaped Europe in the early 19th century.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFollowing a successful coup d'etat in 1799, Napoleon went on to conquer much of Western and North Eastern Europe.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDefeat in Russia and at the Battle of Waterloo has diminished the stature of his achievements. However, Napoleon was key in establishing a legal framework used across much of Europe, based on Meritocracy, and his military strategy is still widely studied across the world.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhen the Duke of Wellington was asked to name the greatest general of the day, he answered: \"In this age, in past ages, in any age, Napoleon.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"western\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFree global shipping and Certificate of Authenticity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrder online, by phone +44 (0)1534 639 998, or via email info@paulfrasercollectibles.com\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Paul Fraser Collectibles","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48572577349857,"sku":"PT1811","price":25000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1645\/0221\/files\/NapoleonLock_2.jpg?v=1781784840","url":"https:\/\/www.paulfrasercollectibles.com\/products\/napoleon-lock-of-hair","provider":"Paul Fraser Collectibles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}