A remarkable artifact of Napoleonic history, this Almanach de la Cour for 1814 is exquisitely bound in red morocco leather, with gilt tooling adorning its edges and spine. The binding bears the imperial monogram of Napoleon Bonaparte, alongside the French Imperial Eagle and a repeating design evocative of the Legion of Honor on the spine.
This volume contains four plates of illustration and 240 pages, along with 42 pages of prefatory material and an additional 8 pages of supplementary content. Its scarcity is underscored by its limited archival presence; WorldCat lists just one extant copy, held at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and traced back to Roland Bonaparte’s library. In terms of condition, this 32mo volume is remarkably well-preserved. The binding exhibits minor rubbing and light wear to the hinges and corners, consistent with its age, while the interior pages show some foxing throughout. Despite these signs of gentle wear, the volume remains in very good condition, a testament to its careful preservation over the centuries. An extraordinary collectible, this almanac offers a tangible connection to Napoleon’s legacy, his extraordinary rise and fall, and the enduring allure of his complex and controversial story.
Produced by François-Pierre Janet, this almanac captures a moment of transition in European history, reflecting the grandeur of Napoleon’s empire even as it teetered on the edge of collapse. Napoleon’s reign, spanning from 1804 to 1814, saw the French Empire at its zenith, encompassing vast swaths of Europe before succumbing to the pressures of coalition forces. Created during the penultimate year of Napoleon’s reign, amid the turbulence of the War of the Sixth Coalition and his eventual abdication and exile to Elba, this volume is both a historical and artistic treasure.
