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Napoléon and Joséphine’s marriage contract sold at auction Napoléon and Joséphine’s marriage contract sold at auction
(about 2 hours later)
They were among history’s most celebrated lovers: Napoléon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais. Now, the marriage contract signed by the love-struck pair on 8 March 1796, has been sold at auction for several times the estimated price. They were among history’s most celebrated lovers: Napoléon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais. Now, the marriage contract signed by the lovestruck pair on 8 March 1796 has been sold at auction for several times the estimated price.
The document, until now held in a private collection, was Joséphine’s copy and gives her full name of Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. The document, until now held in a private collection, was De Beauharnais’s copy and gives her full name of Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie. It was signed the day before the marriage and three days before Bonaparte left Paris for Nice to take command of the army of Italy during the French revolutionary wars.
It was signed the day before the marriage and three days before Bonaparte left Paris for Nice to take command of the Army of Italy during the French revolutionary wars. It had been estimated to be worth €80,000 to €100,000 (£49,000 to £61,000), but was sold after furious bidding on Sunday to the Paris Museum of Letters and Manuscripts for €350,000 without auctioneer’s commission and fees (€437,500 including auctioneer’s costs).
It had been estimated to be worth €80,000 to €100,000 (£49,000 to £61,000), but was sold after furious bidding on Sunday to the Paris Museum of Letters and Manuscripts for €350,000 without auctioneer’s comission and fees (€437,500 including auctioneer’s costs). The contract was drawn up a year after the couple met and two months after Bonaparte, then a young general, proposed to De Beauharnais, the sophisticated and worldly widow of a guillotined French revolution general. Although his family disapproved, Bonaparte was besotted and described his fiancee as “worse than beautiful”.
The contract was drawn up a year after the couple met and two months after Bonaparte, then a young general, proposed to Joséphine, the sophisticated and worldly widow of a guillotined French revolution general who had two children and was six years older than him. The contract states that the pair have “no common property” and that neither should be held “responsible for the debts and mortgages of the other”. It records De Beauharnais’s age as four years younger than she was; in fact, she was six years older than Bonaparte.
Although his family disapproved, Bonaparte was besotted and described his fiancee as “worse than beautiful”. The couple were married the next day at the town hall in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, and the contract was registered on 18 March. Bonaparte’s copy of the three-page contract is held in the French national archives.
The contract – in which Joséphine has knocked four years off her age – states that the pair have “no common property” and that neither should be held “responsible for the debts and mortgages of the other”. At a previous auction, in 2007, a love letter from Bonaparte to De Beauharnais, written before they were married, also sold well above the pre-sale estimate. In it, the future emperor wrote: “I send you three kisses – one on your heart, one on your mouth and one on your eyes.”
The couple were married the next day at the town hall in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris and the contract was registered on 18 March. Bonaparte’s copy of the three-page contract is held in the French national archives. The couple’s marriage was annulled in 1810 after they failed to have children, but they remained lifelong friends. On hearing of her death in 1814 of pneumonia, while he was in exile on Elba, Bonaparte is said to have locked himself in his room for two days refusing to see or speak to anyone.
At a previous auction in 2007, a love letter from Bonaparte to Joséphine, written before they were married, also sold well above the pre-sale estimate. The private Paris Museum of Letters and Manuscripts already boasts 136,000 documents, including the couple’s original divorce papers, bought in 2007 for €120,000. It also has the script of the Marquis de Sade’s infamous 120 Days of Sodom.
In it, the future emperor wrote: “I send you three kisses – one on your heart, one on your mouth and one on your eyes.” The latter work, which the aristocratic author described as “the most impure tale that has ever been told since our world began”, was written on a 12-metre-long, narrow scroll discovered in a niche in a cell at the Bastille prison where De Sade was held during the French revolution. It was acquired by the museum in April this year.
The couple’s marriage was annulled in 1810 after they failed to have children, but they remained life-long friends.
On hearing of her death in 1814 of pneumonia, while he was in exile on Elba, Bonaparte is said to have locked himself in his room for two days refusing to see or speak to anyone.
The private Paris Museum of Letters and Manuscripts already boasts 136,000 documents, including the couple’s original divorce papers, bought in 2007 for 120,000 euros.
It also has the script of the Marquis de Sade’s infamous 120 Days of Sodom.
The de Sade work, which the aristocratic author described as “the most impure tale that has ever been told since our world began”, was written on a 12-metre-long, narrow scroll discovered in a niche in a cell at the Bastille prison where de Sade was held during the French revolution. It was acquired by the museum in April this year .