University of Texas at Austin

House of Bonaparte:

An Inventory of the Collection at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator: Harry Ransom Center
Title: House of Bonaparte Collection
Dates: 1785-1879, undated
Extent: 1 document box, 1 custom box, 1 oversize box (4.23 linear feet), 2 oversize folders (osf)
Abstract: A gathering of manuscripts related to the House of Bonaparte. Includes a manuscript and a letter written by Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, as well as several decrees and orders signed by him, some with his annotations.
Call Number: Manuscript Collection MS-54103
Language: French, English, Italian
Access: Open for research


Administrative Information


Processed by: Joan Sibley and Michael Ramsey, 2011; Richard Workman, 2017 Note: This finding aid replicates and replaces information previously available only in a card catalog. Please see the explanatory note at the end of this finding aid for information regarding the arrangement of the manuscripts as well as the abbreviations commonly used in descriptions.
Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Scope and Contents


This collection was previously cataloged under the title Napoleon I, Emperor of the French Collection, 1785-1813, undated. Additional manuscripts related to the French emperors Napoleon I and Napoleon III and their families have been gathered together expanding the scope of the original collection, now titled the House of Bonaparte Collection, 1785-1879, undated.
The collection consists primarily of letters and official documents, all in French unless noted otherwise. The collection is arranged alphabetically by author. It includes a manuscript and a letter written by Napoleon I as well as several decrees and orders signed by him, some with his annotations. Other correspondents include the Empress Josephine; Queen Hortense; Empress Eugénie; Antoine-Marie Chamans, comte de La Valette; and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, prince de Bénévent.

Related Materials


Extensive additional manuscript materials related to Napoleon I and the Bonaparte family are in several extra-illustrated volumes in the Stark Library at the Ransom Center; see the finding aid for Manuscripts in the Stark Books Collection. Additional related material is located among the Marthe Bibesco Papers and the Carlton Lake Collection of French Manuscripts. Napoleonic memorabilia is also present in the John Diederick Holm Collection.
A number of objects associated with Napoleon I, including a lock of his hair and a death mask, are in the Ransom Center’s Personal Effects Collections.

Container List