Napoleon Bonaparte served as the emperor of France. Born in Corsica, Napoleon served in the French army, and in 1799 overthrew the government of France, becoming its ruler. While emperor, Napoleon conquered most of Europe, as well as Egypt. To fund his conquest and wars however, Napoleon was forced to sell Louisiana to the Americans. After his failed invasion of Russia and his defeat at Leipzig, Paris was overtaken by The Allies, and Napoleon was forced to surrender. He was exiled to the island of Elba. After escaping Elba however, he retook control of France, but was again defeated in the battle of Waterloo and was exiled to St. Helena where he resided until his death.

     The featured piece is a caricature of Napoleon with text at the bottom, dated 1814. The print is in Dutch and English respectively. The main text pokes fun at Napoleon’s titles after his defeat and exile to Elba. The second piece explains the heavy symbolism of the caricature itself. This piece is 10 ½ x 12 inches. The paper is lightly worn, with slight tears on the upper left corner, and bottom left corner. Aside from that, this piece is in remarkable condition and very well preserved. Included with this piece is a LOA from University Archives.

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