RARE ET IMPORTANTE MÈCHE DE CHEVEUX DE L'EMPEREUR NAPOLÉON Ier PROVENANT DE SON PIQUEUR ACHILLE ARCHAMBAULT A lock of hair tied to a piece of paper inscribed by hand: "Hair of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, cut off on his head after his death on St. Helena Island on May 5, 1821, by Monsieur Archambault, his first picker who never left him from 1805 until his death. This hair was given by Monsieur Archambault to his physician, Monsieur Durocher. Preserved under curved glass in a blackened wood frame with gilded bronze strapping. On the back, the handwritten inscription: "Hair of Napoleon, first emperor of the French, cut on his head after his death, on the island of St. Helena, May 5, 1821, by Monsieur Archambault, his first pikeman who never left him from 1805 until his death. He was part of the mission to fetch the remains, which were transported on the Belle Poule frigate to Paris on December 15, 1840. These hairs were given to Dr. Janin on September 5, 1848, by Monsieur Durocher, a former military surgeon who had received them from Monsieur Archambault, whose physician he was. Janin on December 23, 1859. Diameter: 7.5 cm (as seen). Frame: L. 14.5 cm. ON JOINT une L.A.S. de l'historien Frédéric Masson (1847-1923): " Monsieur, je me rappelle votre visite et je puis dire que étant donné l'honorabilité des témoins qui ont certifiés l'authenticité des reliques que vous possédédez il y a tout bien d'y croire. But here, as in so many things, it is faith that proves. Yours faithfully Frederic Masson 29/1/(19)14." With an autograph note below: "Dear Monsieur Granet, I have the pleasure of communicating to you the above appraisal by Monsieur Frederic Masson, member of the Académie Française and official historian of the imperial epic, certifying the absolute authenticity of the lock of Napoleon's hair, the first one you entrusted to me to submit to him". And various related documents, including a letter from the Conservation du Château de Malmaison dating from 1912. Provenance: Achille Archambault (1792-1858), pikeman to Emperor Napoleon I. Then given to his physician Monsieur Durocher, military surgeon. Then given to Dr. Janin, September 5, 1848. French private collection. Then by descent