The First Napoleon

author John Codman Ropes (St. Petersburg, 1836 - 1899, Boston)

printer Riverside Press (active Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1852 - 1971)

publisher Houghton, Mifflin and Company (active Boston and New York, 1880 - 2007)

Date1885

MediumPrinted ink on paper

Dimensions20.3 x 13.3 x 3.8 cm (8 x 5 1/4 x 1 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsBooks

Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Accession number10.a.1.1

eMuseum ID722502

EmbARK ObjectID17950

TMS Source ID6115

Last Updated8/9/24

Descriptionxxii, 347 p. maps, port. 20 cm. (HathiTrust rec. #007694672)

Status

Not on view

Web CommentaryWhile attending finishing school in Paris during the 1850s, Isabella Stewart Gardner was captivated by French literature, culture, and history. Of particular note is her interest in the former French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. Evidence of her affinity for Napoleon are scattered throughout her museum, including her book collection. This particular book was given to Isabella by the author, John Codman Ropes in November 1885. It discusses, in a series of lectures originally delivered in Boston in March 1885, Napoleon's foreign and domestic policies.

BibliographyNotesKathleen King,"Relics of an Emperor: Napoleon Bonaparte," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 August 2022, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/relics-emperor-napoleon-bonaparte-gardner-museum

MarksNotesInscribed in blue ink (on front end paper): Mrs John L. Gardner / with the kind regards / of John C. Ropes / 4 Nov. 1885
Pasted (on back of front cover): Photograph of bust of Napoleon I
Enclosed: Pressed flowers (ARC.009824)
Enclosed: Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from author John Codman Ropes (1836-1899) on 6 April 1886 (ARC.005216)

ProvenanceNotesGift from the author John Codman Ropes (1836-1899) to Isabella Stewart Gardner 4 November 1885.