New-York tribune., 1904-10-30
NAPOLEON'S Cooked HAT.
History of the Famous Black Felt
Worn at WaterLOO.
Paris. October IL.

last Thursday at the Institute of France. The
late painter, ]. L. Ger0me had bequeathed the
historic relic to the Institute be preserved in
the Conde Museum at Chantiliy. This legacy
excited the indignation Of several members OF
the Institute. including Messrs. Mezieres, Gruyer
and Leopold de Lisle. who petitiOned that au-
gust body to refuse the bequest, alleging that,
as the Chantilly Museum was monument COM
the glory of the great Conde, 1t
would be highly unbecoming to place In 1t the
headdress of the man who in 1904 had ordered
the Due d'Enghien. great-grandson of the Prince
of Conde. victor OF ROcroy. to be shot The ques-
ton Of the cooked hat became burning issue,
and. IN accordance with the petition. an extraOr-
binary plenary session was held and after
vigorous debate among the members of the five
academies it was decided by a vote Of forty
two to twcnty-eight to accept the legacy. Con-
ssquently. the huge black felt tri-colOred Ma
poIeonic hat. measuring nearly yard in width.
will shortly be placed at Chantilly in a glass
case beside the flag OF Rocroy.
This exciting historical discussion has elected
interesting revelations concerning NapOleOn's
hats and uniforms. 1t appears that OF the
hundred and fifty hats that belonged to the great
Emperor there are only seven now known to be
In existence. BY his WILL dated April 10. 1921.
Napoleon left to his son. the Due de Reichstadt.
all wearing dppdIcl anu equipments ri4Cl-4c-
ing jewels. hats. swords. saddles, uniforms,
boots. spurs. camp bedsteads. etc. In the lot
marked by the Emperor "C'-''inventory Of my
personal effects that Marchand Will keep and
deliver TO my son"-were two cooked hats
After NapOleOn's death the faithful Marchand
sought in vain to be allowed to see the seques-
tered Due de Reichstadt-"rAiglOn to
hand over to him the objects that had belonged
TO his father. The Due de Reichstadt died with
out ever seeing the relics bequeathed to him. The
objects were then divided among the Emperor's
surviving brothers and sisters The hat worn
by the Emperor at Waterloo was among the
lot assigned to the ex-Queen Caroline, wife OF
Murat who subsequently gave 1t 10 her secre-
tary, F. b. de Mercy. "a reward for long and
faithful services De Mercy left the hat in his
will to his eldest son. who some thirty years
ago sold 1t for the sum Of 1900 francs to the
painter, J. L. Gerome. The historic hat was
placed by Gerome in glass case in his dining
room, adjoining his studio. at Montmartre, which
was situated nearly opposite to the Moulin
Rouge Music Hail. Shortly before the Due
d Aumales death Gerome was lunching at the
Chateau de ChantilIy. While slipping coffee the
painter remarked: do you know. monseigneur'
that q paragraph IN my will concerns you?'
Indeed" exclaimed the Due d'Aumale. Yes"
replied Gerome. Il have left to the COnde Mu-
scum the hat worn by Napoleon at Waterloo"
The Due d'Aumale manifested some astonish-
ment and asked Ger6me to tell him how the
interesting relic" came into hts possession No
further mention made of the hat until
Geromes Will was probated. when the matter
was eagerly discussed, and It has at last been
decided to place the famous black felt head
dress in the central room OF the museum beside
the flag of RoCrOy.
The seven authentic NapoleOnic hats now In
existence ere all Of different dimensions Prince
Victor Napoleon, Prince Louis Napoleon and
the Empress Eugene each have one. a fourth
is owned by Armand DumarescQ. a Partisan
painter. Another figures In Nine. Tussaud's mu-
scum in London beside the guillOtine which
served TO decapitate Louis XVI and Marie An
toinette The sixth hat Of Napoleon was once
the property Of MeissOnier, the military painter,
and, after having served as the model In all OF
that artists pictures Of the Emperor. was given
by Charles MeissOnier the painters son. TO the
Museum of the Army at the Invalides. where
Napoleon was buried. The seventh hat Of Ma
poleon is that which he wore at Waterloo. and
which is now going to the Conde Museum at
Chantilly. the magnificent castle and domain left
by the late Due d'Aumale. Hneal descendant Of
Conda. to the Institute Of France as national
monument to commemorate his illustrious
cestor.
It is interesting to note that the legend OF
the petit chapeau" still exists. Frenchmen al
ways refer to the headgear Of the First Napo-
leon as "the little hat" This is because the
hats worn by Bouaparte at TouIon, at Lodi. in
Egypt. during the famous eighteenth Brumaire.
and at Marengo were all quite small When the
Emperor became stouter he ordered his halter
to widen the brims Of his headdress so as 10
be more becoming. AS he became fat and pot
bigger. his hats became broader and broader.
For instance. the hat Of Waterloo is thrice the
size of the hat Of Austerlitz. These facts are
recorded in the inventories Of the Emperor's
hatters POupard ct Gle. who had their
shop near the Law Courts. and which We're
recently discovered by NJ. Gernain Bapst, the
Partisan antiquarian. Napoleon. although care
ful OF his personal appearance, had terrible
habit Of soiling his waistcoat with snuff which
he carried loose IN the lefthand pocket there
by doing away with the inconvenience OF carry
ing snufbox. 1t appears that the Emperor
had also Il slovenly trick of wiping the ink from
his fingers on his breeChes. The hats, however,
were free from such accidents. and he priGed
himself on the graceful way in which he wore
them. writer In the "Gaulois" suggests that
1t would he interesting TO discover some of the
hats which Napoleon invariably refused TO re-
move from his head when he received kings
and sovereign princes under the rank Of En-
peror. He uncovered his mead only In the pref
ence OF the EmpeIors OF Russia and OF Austria.
one day Napoleon received the Kings OF Ia
varia and Of Saxony at SaiRt-C Cloud. As the TWO
kings removed their hats the Emperor ackEowl-
edged their salutations by rsere!y touching the
brlm OF his cooked hat with his forehnSer. He
then drove with the TWO kings to Malmaison.
and. getting out OF his carriage casually re-
marked: II am going 10 see the Empress Would
I'd for mo