Gruesome

Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach, famed U.S. bookseller, purchased a fine collection of Napoleonic relics, once the property of the Abb Ange Paul Vignali, one of the Corsican priests sent to minister to the ex-Emperor on the isle of St. Helena.

The collection numbers about 40 pieces, half of which consist of documents. The most interesting are: death mask from the matrix moulded by Dr. Antomarchi, Napoleon's doctor ; a letter from Antomarchi to Vignali; the last cup ever used by the ex-French Emperor, a silver goblet inscribed with the Imperial arms; a silver knife, fork and spoon also engraved with the Imperial arms; a shirt, handkerchiefs, pair of white breeches, white pique waistcoats; Church vestments from the Longwood Chapel, some marked with the Imperial cypher; last, the most gruesome relic, a mummified tendon taken from the ex-Emperor's body during the postmortem.

The relics passed from Vignali to his nephew Charles Marie Gianettini, who has just sold them to Dr. Rosenbach with a special notarial act vouching for their authenticity.