National Museum of American History
Napoleon’s Napkin, Island of Elba, Italy, 1815
Napoleon I Emperor of France · 1815
The Emperor Napoleon gave this table napkin to William Bayard on February 26, 1815, the morning Napoleon escaped exile on the island of Elba, off the coast of Italy. The napkin is embroidered in one corner with a small green crown above the letter N and in the opposite corner with the red initials W.B. William Bayard, a wealthy American who traveled widely among the courts of Europe, had called upon the exiled French emperor, who reportedly invited Bayard to join his party returning to France. Instead, Bayard came home with his story and two of the emperor’s napkins.
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