Media Advisory

EXHIBITION OF RARE NAPOLÉON ARTIFACTS
PREMIERES AT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MUSEUM

WHAT: Press preview of “NAPOLÉON An Intimate Portrait,” an exhibition showcasing more than 250 rare personal belongings of Napoléon and his Imperial court, artifacts from the emperor's life and famous depictions of him by leading artists of his time. The exhibit will be on display at the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall from Sept. 28, 2005, to Jan. 2, 2006. This is the first time these historical treasures will be seen in North America.

Among the exhibit's highlights are Napoléon's signature hat; a portrait of Napoléon in his coronation robe; a signed letter written by Napoléon at the age of 14; his first will; his signet ring; his personal map of the French Empire in 1812; and an 11-foot-high canopied bed of Napoléon's brother, Jerome, King of Westphalia.

WHO: Pierre-Jean Chalençon, head curator and noted Napoléon and First Empire authority and author

Russell Etling, exhibit project director
Susan Norton, director of the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall
1145 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

CONTACT: Cindy Beidel, (202) 862-5286, cbeidel@ngs.org

NOTE: For photographs, contact picture editor Eduardo Rubiano, (202) 857-7760, or erubiano@ngs.org.

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