The morning call., 1894-02-11
HE REIGNS AGAIN.
Memories of Napoleon
Revived.
IMPERIAL RELICS IN DEMAND
Famous Collections Which Are to
Be Found in the United
States.

Napoleon Bonaparte reigns again 10
Parish He is the idol of the houri This
revival of Napoleonic Ideas is not confined
to Paris alone, but has extended to Eng
land and the United States. Curiosity
shops have caught the fever and collectors
have suddenly been seized with renewed
enthusiasm for souvenirs of the Little
Corsican. The Partisan stage is now
doing homage to his memory. Sardou's
powerful play. Mime. Sans-Gene." in
which Napoleon is represented as bluff,
kind-hearted ruler, and Martin-Laya's
grand spectacular drama of Napoleon"
In which are pictured the most brilliant
scenes of the Emperor's life, are both en-
joying an immense popularity. No man
within modern times underwent such re-
markable and rapid changes a. did Ma
puleon, and it is therefore III perfect har-
mony with his life that the Parisans
should present him to the world in a new
form.
Perbapsa nothing better illustrates the
wonderful genius of Napoleon than the
ia CT that his influence is so powerfully felt
to-day. The average Frenchman. although
republican, regards the First Emperor
with the same patriotic fervOr that an
American feels for George Washington.
adorned, the works of art. the public build
ings and the Code Napoleon, which Bona
parte left behind him, still exist, visible
monuments of his career.
The finest Nap0leonic collections are in
Europe. Every one who has visited Nine.
TuSsaud's celebrated waxwOrks in London
remembers the museum OF NapOleOnlc rel
les. Diost of which were once the personal
property of the Emperor. The majority of
these souvenirs originally formed part of
the collection of Mr.. George Salisbury, a
wealthy Englis hman. who. in 1910, sue
ceeded in getting together the largest and
most varied accumulation of NapOleonana
that the world has ever seen. But this
prince of collectors met with misfortune,
and about 1S43 ~ as compelled 10 part with
his treasures in the auction-room. Nearly
every collector of note to-day has some
thing that was once owned by Mr.. Sans
| bury, and stray pieces which occasionally
| find their way into the shops of London
| dealers are ravenOuSly picked up.
Napoleunana command higher prices
| and are more difficult to obtain in Paris, sc
| experienced collectors say, than in many
| other cities on the Continent or in London
| Tnis is due TO the fact that nearly every
| one regards the French capital as the Gen.
| ter for such material and consequently
the demand is always great and rare
things are hard to obtain, unless one Il
willing to pay a liberal price. AS Napoleon
no longer yields his pen OF sits for new
lpertraits, collectors have to get hold o
I what is already In existence on the best
possible terms.
In this country the Napoleonc fever hal
spread rapidly during the past few years
Boston. 1t is claimed, in tile number o
collectors, holds the palm just al present
| but New York is giving her close race
Mr.. John c. Ropes. who has made spe
cial study of the portraits of Napoleon
has been very largely the means of stimu
laiing the zeal Of the Bostonians for Ma
poleonic matter. Many of the litterateurs
in the famous Club OF Old Volumes hayI
cbo DICE collections.
In New York George Vanderbilt I.
numbered among the Bonaparte enthu
siasts. One of his speciaties lies in rar,
| old eBgravings. and he has choice col
| lection of scarce and handsome portraits
| Mrs. Jordan L.. Mott Is another enthusiast
She is one of the few ladies in the lanC
who, despite her social duties, finds time
| to enter heart and soul into the spirit of
hobby. Her curios, medals, chlDawart
and other mementos of the French i'm
perial days would do credit to the treas
| ures of the Louvre.
| One of the instructive features of gooC
| Napoleonic collection is the opportunit,
afforded a careful observer to note tn,
many and wonderfully rapid change,
| which mark the course of Napoleon
marvellous life. Not only in the events o.
his life are these changes seen with gres