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Her son was educated in Europe and married the wealthy heiress Susan May Williams of Baltimore although his mother had hoped he would marry a European. He later
received the official right to use the name Bonaparte from Napoleon III though the family remained excluded from the line of succession. His eldest son Jerome
Napoleon II (1829-1893) graduated from West Point in 1852 and served in the U.S. Regiment of Mounted Rifles and then resigned to serve in the forces of
the Second French Empire under Napoleon III during the Crimean War. His younger brother, Charles Bonaparte (1851-1921), studied at Harvard and became a lawyer and served as U.S. Secretary of the Navy and United States Attorney General under President Theodore Roosevelt and
created the Bureau of Investigation.
The story of Jerome and Elizabeth continued to fascinate the public and is featured in the 1923 German film “The Little Napoleon,” the American films “Glorious Betsy” (1928) and “Hearts Divided” (1936), C.S. Forester’s Horatio Hornblower series and the BBC’s popular “Hornblower” series based upon the novels, and more recently the historical novel “The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte” by Ruth Hull Chatlien in 2013. CONDITION: Very good with bright original gold, dark aged patina on the silver, dark brown patina and some mild pitting on the iron, and general mild age and storage related wear. The ramrod is crudely repaired. The stock is fine and has crisp
checkering with a few worn spots, mild scratches and dings, and some edge wear. Mechanically fine. The shipping crate is good with general mild age related wear. B) Haslett Flintlock Dueling Pistol - Serial no. 21, 28 bore/.55 cal., 9 3/8 inch octagon
bbl., brown/gold/casehardened/silver/blue finish, checkered walnut stock. See “A.” CONDITION: Very good with bright original gold, dark aged patina on the silver, dark brown patina on the iron, added slot in the lock screw, and
general mild age and storage related wear, including some mild pitting. The ramrod is crudely repaired. The stock is also fine and has crisp checkering with a few worn spots, mild scratches and dings, and some edge wear. Mechanically fine.
This is a fascinating pair of American dueling pistols from a well-known maker in Baltimore, inscribed to Jerome Bonaparte, and attributed as a gift from Elizabeth Patterson on their wedding day. Their complex love story was personally interrupted by Emperor Napoleon, Jerome’s older brother, and later
became the subject of books, the stage, and film.
Provenance: Jerome Bonaparte; The Duane Brodersen Collection; The Martin Retting Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Elizabeth
Estimate: 75,000 - 150,000
Patterson