General Jean Baston de Lariboisière

In the summer of 2010 we visited the place Fougères (France, 48.21.08 N, 01.12.10 W).
This little town is the place of birth of Comte Général Jean Baston de Lariboisières. (1759-1812)  He was a very old friend of Napoleon (already in 1793) and was artillery-general. His last job was to be the first inspector-general of the artillery. He has got a statue in Fougères.

He maintaind also a correspondance with with his boss. Napoleon sand him 73 lettres. Now these are collected in a kind of book. 

I entered about ten o'clock the public library in with this was stored. No sir, at the other site of this building, but not for 14.00u. I returned. No sir, we do'nt even know if we have that book. I looked in the computer. It was no. 27 of their cataloque! No sir, you must have a written permission and that takes minimal a week.

And that book is stored in the safe. But after a little explanation, my visitecard eso. the two women stayed away for half an houre and came back with the book!

I had to put on white handgloves and there it was: all that 73 letters from Napolen to General de Lariboisière.

Of course I was very impressed, the signature of Napoleon was realistic for my eys!  Sneaky I touch it with my bare hand! It gave me an enorm positive feeling!

Was I allowed to take pictures? Of course sir, no flash. What are you going tot do with that pictures? I explained my website (http://www.roelkvos.nl/guide%20napoleon) and my weblog. I had to sign a list for every picture I took.

After an houre I had seen enough. Thankfully I sayd goodby. I have had a wonderful day!

Below you can see the results of this afternoon.

  

A new book about Napoleon

During one of the last days I was in France this summer I did my shopping in a brand new supermarket of E.Leclerc. Since a few years you meet in the front of such new buildings a lot of other shops, also a vast bookstore of E.Leclerc itself.
I saw this book about Napoleon and of course I bought it at once.
When it's opend you see directly that this book is artificially elderd.
More: there are copies of letters of Napoleon, battlemaps, eso.
The tekst is good, but not amazing.
The pictures are well known.
But: the layout and the size stroke me.
See for your self!
(Today (fryd 5th nov. 2010 I was in the American Bookstore in The Hague (Netherlands). There I saw this book in English!)

Post Cards of Napoleon

In my collection of post cards of Napolen (154 now, see www.roelkvos.nl/cards ) there are three typical cards.
Here you can see the front of these cards. Nothing seems wrong with it, nice cards!

card 1

card 2

card 3

It is just the backsite that makes it interesting!
The cards are addressed to Mej. (Miss) B. Textor in Enschede (Netherlands). 

They are sent by a Nico just before World War I (1913).

He writes formal and all seems to be correct.

But:

On all the cards the stamp has been removed. (Not by me!)

When I take my magnifying glass I see some text under the place of the stamp.
What I read there is not formal at all!
It is love-text!
Look at the cards.


card 1    23-01-1913



card 2   03-02-1913





card 3    14-03-1913



Here is the Durch text and the translation:

card 1:
Lieveling, vele groetjes van de liefh. Nico.
Lieveling, slaap zacht.
Dag Bertha.

Darling, many greetings from your loving Nico.
Darling, sleep well.
By Bertha.

card 2:
Lieveling,
vele zoentjes op je snoetje.
Dag schatje,
mijn Toereloertje.

Darling,
many kisses on your little face.
By darling,
my toereloertje (a nickname).

card 3:
Mijn lieveling,
mijn gedachten zijn zoo zwaar.
Oh, Bertha, mijn lieveling,
wat moet ik lijden, maar ik zal het dragen.
Lieveling, vele innige zoentjes
van je liefh. Nico.

My darling,
My thoughts are so heavy.
Oh, Bertha, my darling,
how I have to suffer, but I shall carry it.
Darling, many sweet kisses
from your loving Nico.


In the old days it was probably normal to put your intimate feelings under a stamp!

I searched a little bit in the genealogic tables and found following:

Wilhelmina Geertruida Bertha Textor is born in Enschede on 26 april 1889.
She got married with Engelbertus Huckriede, a carpenter, also born in Enschede on 27 febr. 1891.
The marriage was on 25 april 1912 (a day before her 23th anniversary).

What stroke me was that the cards are posted in 1913, a year afther the wedding.
Not by Engelbertus, but by Nico!
Was Nico a secret lover?
We shall never know!

Has this all something to do with Napoleon?
I do not think so.
But I was suprised that these young (married!) lovers used Napoleon as a cloak.









Everywhere!

My second trip to Dakar (Senegal) has just been finished.
Ten days I spended there to help a school for Transport&Logistiscs to improve their methods of teaching, ICT, competenses of the students, founding a library, e.s.o.

Napoleon has never been in Senegal (but St.Helena is rather near!), but in dec. 2009, when I was there for the first time, I saw a garden founded by a French botanist of his decate.

This it was very simple!
In the reception of my hotel I saw suddenly these chair! And I had walked by it already many times!

It is a Napoleontic chair. The ladies at the reception had not any idea what, when or why!

Hair of Napoleon

In my life untill now I have three times seen original hair of Napoleon.
The first occasion was on the island of AIX  in France.
But I cannot find the photograph I took there.

The second was during my voyage to St. Helena.
Look at the pictures:

 

Now I saw for the third times a haircombination in Ajaccio (Corse).

The left is from Napoleon, the middle are branches of the trees of his tomb on St.Helena.

The right is hair from the son of Napoleon, called le Roi du Rome.

All hairpieces have a red glow!

Unkown Bonaparte-childeren

During my journey in april 2010 on Corsica I stayed for two days in Ajaccio. This is the town where Napoleon was born. Of course I visited his home of birth.

The second day I bouhgt a little book, called La jeunesse inédite de Napoléon. (see picture).

When I was in the evening reading my eye felt on a scheme of the family tree of Napoleon. (see picture).

What stroke me is this:

The first child of the parents of Napoleon is born dead (1765).

The second is a girl, named Maria-Anna, 1767 - 1767. She lived probably a few days or months.

The third child is Joseph.

The fourth one is Napoleon.

The fifth child is again a Maria-Anne. (1771 - 1771). Gone soon! Second of this name!

The sixth child is a dead-born (1773).

The seventh child is Lucien.

Then follows as the eigth again a Maria-Anne (1776 - 1776). Lived short! Third of this name!

The nineth child is Maria-Anne!-Elisa. She is the first child with the name Maria-Anne who stayed alive!

The last childeren were Louis, Pauline, Caroline and Jerôme.

All togehter Charles and Letizia Bonaparte have had 13 childeren.

Of course I know that a lot of babies died quickly in those days, but is there anyone who knows something more about that dead-born or shortly living childeren Bonaparte?

ON ELBA and CORSICA

Now I am returned from my threeweeks tour on Italy, Elba, Corsica and the Route Napoleon march/april 2010.
It was wonderful. I took many pictures, I show you here a few of them.
Of course I visited as much as possible about Napoleon. His both places of living on Elba, his house of birth in Ajaccio, all the plaquettes, statues, steres, and so on. You can see it all on mij website http://www.roelkvos.nl/guide%20napoleon
I am still busy with it. a lot of work!

 

This is the house Mullini (on Elba, Porto Ferrajo)

This is the house were he lived most on Elba

I bought a little book about the youth of Napoleon.
I read some interessting things about him.
I tell you later.

My way to go

In spring of this year my wife and I will make a three weeks trip to Corsica and Elba with my camper.
On the internet I have read that since one year it is not possible to travel with a vehicle higher then 2.60m on the Route Napoleon from south to north. In the other direction there is no problem. My camper is 2.65m, so I have first to visit Corsica and then Elba. Returning through the Tunnel of Mont-Blanc.
I shall keep you informed!

The Palace of Soestdijk

On wednesdy 24 febr. 2010 my wife and I visited the Palace of Soestdijk in Soestdijk (Holland, near Utrecht).

This palace is build in 1649 and bougt by the Dutch Royal Family of Oranje in 1674.
One of the former owners was the later King Willem II of Holland.
He fought at Quatre Bras and in Waterloo.
He was wounded there and later called 'Hero of Waterloo'.
There is in the Palce a Waterloo-room with a six bij four meter painting of the event.
You may not take pictures of it.
I ask the tourguide if there is any portrait, painting, drawing of an object of Napoleon.
There is not, even not in the cellars or in any other depot.

Untill 1937 the Palace was only a countryhouse.
But from 1937 till 2004 the Dutch queen Juliana and her husband Prins Bernard were living there.
Both died there in that year and are burried in Delft, where most of the kings and queens of Oranje rest.

Now the Palace is during three years opened for the public.
You have to get your ticket by internet. Groups are only 15 persons.
It was very nice to see all.

One km from the Palace you can see an obilisk. It is erected as a memory for the start of the kingdom of Holland in 1815. We could not walk to is, because it was just heavy raining at that moment.
I will do that later.