Special Collections & Archives is home to this plaster copy of Napoleon's death mask. The original mold was created after his death in 1821 and was used to create the few remaining copies that survive today. As part of Special Collections & Archives, the death mask is available for anybody to see.
Further reading: A Mask for Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, which at the time was part of France. He was a military student of artillery on the French mainland and later served in the wars of the French Revolution. He took political power as a result of the coup on 18 Brumaire. After a series of plebiscites, he established the First French Empire and became known as emperor. After his defeat at Waterloo, the Sixth Coalition exiled him to the isle of Elba in the Mediterranean in 1814. He returned during the "hundred days," was defeated again, and Britain imprisoned him on the Island of St. Helena until his death in 1821.
Catalog searching: You can search our library catalog online. Under the advanced search, you can narrow down the body of materials by choosing Strozier Library, Special Collections or Strozier, Napoleon Collection as a filter.
In addition to simply searching Napoleon's name, here are some other keywords as an example to guide a catalog search:
© 2022 Florida State University Libraries | 116 Honors Way | Tallahassee, FL 32306 | (850) 644-2706