A pair of boots worn by Napoleon I in his exile in St. Helena was auctioned Friday at Drouot in Paris for 117,208 euros (including costs), we learned from the house Binoche and Giquello who organized the sale. This pair of boots, called "equestrian", 48 cm in height, black fine leather soles with small heels, was estimated between 50,000 and 80,000 euros.
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He commanded his boots rue de Montmartre in Paris
The pair of boots was lent by General Henri-Gatien Bertrand (1773-1844), companion of the emperor on the English island, to the sculptor Carlo Marochetti (1805-1867) while he was working on an equestrian sculpture for the tomb of Napoleon. The son of the sculptor, Baron Marochetti, donated these boots to Senator Paul Le Roux (1850-1923). They were kept since in the family Le Roux. From the beginning of the Empire, Napoleon ordered his boots to the shoemaker Jacques, who lived in the rue de Montmartre in Paris. He made a big consumption of it. It was 1.69 meters tall, a size above the average of the time, contrary to what the English propaganda of the time suggests, and the size of its feet was 26/27 cm, a size about 40-41.