To return to the site, www.napoleon.org, please click here.   Bulletin - Bulletin                    OBJECTS/SYMBOLS All through his career, Napoleon obsessed about the symbol. He recognised the power of the object to speak a world of words – incidentally another of his specialities! Getting the message across was his genius, from Autun to Longwood House. He was mocked for his friendship with the hot box office star of the Directory, Talma, but he learned from that great actor. And he managed to reinvent himself, metamorphosing himself from gauche gunner to walker with kings, all the while, letting the symbols speak for him. Here was a Cincinnatus who came from the sticks to steer the tiller of state. He wore a simple grey greatcoat, he turned his hat sideways: this little corporal had spoken long before he opened his mouth. This was the ‘truth' the legend bequeathed to posterity. And yet, this ‘Spartan' would have nothing but the best for campaign furniture, for his palaces, for his brothers' and sisters' palaces, for his courtiers, for his ministers… We can only marvel at the power of this spin (still current today), the simple man of the soldiery, who pinched their cheeks, who walked the pickets the night before the battle, but who was actually the most absolute, most inaccessible of the monarchs of his time. Powerful symbols, powerful objects indeed: our object of the month is a perfect example! Peter Hicks Historian and Director of International Relations at the Fondation Napoléon   NATIONAL HOMMAGE: THE MARSEILLAISE IS SUNG AT LES INVALIDES In hommage to the victims of the 13 November attacks, the Marseillaise was sung in the courtyard of Les Invalides (video, external link). Some of those injured in the attack attended the ceremony, a stone's throw from the Emperor's tomb (photos, external link).   OBITUARY This week we heard about the death of John Paul Bertaud, Professor Emeritus of the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and a renowned historian of the periods of the Revolution and the Empire. He was awarded the 2009 Fondation Napoléon First Empire History Prize for his book "Les royalistes et Napoléon". The Fondation Napoléon wishes to express its sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.        OBJECT OF THE MONTH > THE EMPEROR'S INITIALED CAMPAIGN "GOBELET" IN IT'S LEATHER CASE This exceptional crystal glass was made by the Montcenis crystal manufacture for the Maison de l'Empereur and is a fine example of the type of exquisite - yet portable - objects that Napoleon I used while on campaign. It is currently on loan to the Mobilier National for the exhibition Le bivouac de Napoléon, luxe et ingéniosité en campagne, which can be seen at the Galerie des Gobelins in Paris, until 13 December.   PHOTO ALBUM To see more of the Emperor's ingenious furniture and tableware (and its meticulously constructed transport cases) and discover how the Emperor lived while on campaign have a look at our Facebook photo album of that exhibition. Also presented in this exhibition is the travel necessaire that Napoleon used at the Battle of Austerlitz exactly 210 years ago this week (2 December). Read more about it here. STUDY DAY AND TALK In the context of the exhibition there will be a study day on 3 December on the theme “Le bivouac de Napoléon, de la fonction au symbole”, (“Napoleon's Bivouac: practical and symbolic”,here is the Programme, in French) and as part of the "Rencontres des Gobelins" organised by the Mobilier National, Jean-Philippe Garric, Bernard Jacqué, and Carole Damour will talk about “Empire: un néo-style?” on 8 December. More information here (in French).        OUR CHRISTMAS BOOK SELECTION 2015 Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat… we've put together a list of suggestions for some juicy books for you to get your teeth into! There's something for everyone: biographies, military analyses, beautifully illustrated exhibition catalogues, a feast for your eyes, and of course a wealth of books covering the various events commemorated in this exceptional bicentenary year. PARIS IN BOOKS This week, as a special homage to Paris, here is a small selection of new books about that city which was so dear to the heart of Napoleon and whose landscape today owes so much to the developments made during the First and Second Empires: Planning the Greenspaces of Nineteenth-Century Paris by Richard S. Hopkins; How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City by Joan DeJean, which is reviewed here and finally a delightful facsimile of Paris: Les Boulevards (a rare nineteenth-century book rediscovered in a Paris bookshop) which depicts Paris from the street level through a series of pull-out panoramas, drawn in minute detail at the end of the Second Empire by a little-known painter, Charles Franck, with commentaries in English by Pamela Golbin.   ONLINE EXHIBITION > The creation of the twenty arrondissements of Paris (text in french)        PARIS > CAPITAL OF ART In the week which followed the Paris attacks, during which François Holland pledged the implementation of a legal framework to facilitate the safekeeping of threatened cultural heritage, a new film by Russian Alexander Sokurov opened in cinemas in Paris. “Francofonia” lifts the veil on another dark moment in the history of Paris during the German occupation (here is the trailer). It takes the form of a mi-fiction, mi-documentary about a strategy put in place to save the art collection of the Louvre museum, much of which (as the ghost of Napoleon reminds us in the film) was constituted by the Emperor himself. In this interview “War paint: Francofonia director Alexander Sokurov talks art and power” the director defends the importance of conserving culture today. (external links) You can read more about Napoleon I and the Louvre (re-baptized the Napoleon Museum in 1803, ten years after it was created) in this article on our website as well as the additions made to it by Napoleon III.        NAPOLEONIC LEADERSHIP Napoleon has always been a model for great leaders, and business consultants often use historical examples from his life to inspire contemporary practices. Two recent books do just this: Napoleon's Rules by William Dietrich and Napoleonic Leadership: A Study in Power by Stephanie Jones and Jonathan Gosling. On the web you can also browse a blog by Jonathan Gifford who writes about the human aspects of business and leadership, with an interest in the lessons that we can learn from history, several of his articles reflect upon Napoleon such as Leadership strategy: Leadership and courage: Napoleon returns from exile in Elba or Napoleon Bonaparte: the best of leaders; the worst of leaders.   A popular article on Jean-Paul Ralph's self-help blog is Napoleon Bonaparte's Guide to Leadership.   LIFE SIZE WATERLOO TOY THEATRE TO BE RECREATED Young Blood and his Esteemed Company of Strolling Players present an authentic recreation of a classic nineteenth century hippodrama (external link) on an outsize recreation of a Regency toy theatre at the King William Undercroft Old Royal Naval College, UK, on 2 December. The Battle of Waterloo was first performed at Astley's Amphitheatre in 1824 where the action was recreated in a circus ring with an enormous cast and real horses.        210TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ. A re-enactment (on 5 December) will commemorate the Battle of Austerlitz on the actual battlefield where it took place 210 years ago on 2 December 1805, a place which is now called Slavkov u Brna in Moravia. To find out more about this battle take a look at our CLOSE-UP ON: THE EPOCH-MAKING BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ.    LAST DAYS > EXHIBITIONS - 'Waterloo and the March of Science', at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath, UK, until 13 December - 'Le bivouac de Napoléon, luxe et ingéniosité en campagne', at the Galerie des Gobelins, Paris, until 13 December. - 'Da Napoleone a Murat: l'inizio del Risorgimento italiano', Forlimpopoli, Italy, until 6 December.     Wishing you an excellent Napoleonic week!   Peter Hicks and Rebecca Young (with Tiara Ataii)   THE NAPOLEON.ORG BULLETIN No. 780, 27 November - 4 December, 2015 Interested in the work of the Fondation Napoléon? Why not participate, either generally or towards a specific project, by making a donation?          Follow us on our new English-language Facebook page and on Twitter! napoleon.org - related content: WHATS ON (see our website for all events)    Exhibitions - Da Castelfiorentino a Waterloo, Castelfiorentino, Firenze, Italy [28/11/2015 - 13/12/2015] NEW - Le secret de l'État. Surveiller, protéger, informer. XVIIe-XXe siècle, Archives Nationales, Paris [04/11/2015 - 28/02/2016] NEW - Visages de l'effroi : violence et fantastique de David à Delacroix, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Paris, FR  [03/11/2015 - 28/02/2016] NEW - Da Napoleone a Murat: l'inizio del Risorgimento italiano, Forlimpopoli, Italy [01/11/2015 - 06/12/2015] LAST DAYS - Sir Hussey Vivian, From Waterloo to Westminster,  Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, UK [13/06/2015 - 02/01/2016] - Napoléon (1769-1821), sa vie à travers les femmes, Tourist Centre of Wool and Fashion, Verviers, Belgium [10/10/2015 - 28/02/2016] - Splendeurs et misères. Images de la prostitution, 1850-1910 (Splendour and Misery. Pictures of Prostitution), Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France [22/09/2015 - 17/01/2016] - Élisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842), Grand Palais, Paris, France [23/09/2015 - 11/01/2016] - Le Bivouac de Napoléon : luxe et ingéniosité en campagne, Galerie des Gobelins, Paris [18/09/2015 - 13/12/2015] LAST DAYS - Daniel Maclise: The Waterloo Cartoon, Royal Academy of Arts, UK [02/09/2015 - 03/01/2016]  - 'Waterloo and the March of Science', Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath, UK  [18/06/2015 - 13/12/2015] LAST DAYS - 'The Road to Waterloo' and ‘Waterloo Lives', Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland  [03/02/2015 - 28/11/2015] LAST DAYS - 'Waterloo 1815 - The Battle for Peace' at Wellington Arch and new display at Apsley House, London UK [18/04/2015 - 30/12/2015] Re-enactment 210th anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz  Brno, Czech Republic [5/12/2015] SEEN ON THE WEB - Remote Saint Helena evolves into tourist destination - Fanny Fern on marriage in the 19th century - How Napoleon brought Europe to a pinnacle of monarchism THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE MARTIAL-LAPEYRE FONDATION NAPOLEON LIBRARY  The library is normally open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1pm to 6pm and on Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. The library is closed on Wednesdays.   Online database catalogue Digital Library  Contact NAPOLEONICA LES ARCHIVES Site of digitised Napoleonic archival material: The working papers or 'imprimés' of the Napoleonic Conseil d'Etat, the correspondence of Vivant Denon, etc. http://www.napoleonica.org Contact: napoleonica@napoleon.org    NAPOLEONICA. LA REVUE International peer-review interdisciplinary e-review on the history of the two Empires, bilingual French-English, 3 issues per year, free access. Read the review on Cairn.info Contact: napoleonicalarevue@napoleon.org    The Fondation Napoléon's Institutional website: www.fondationnapoleon.org ACCOUNT DETAILS To change your email address, unsubscribe, and sign up for the French information bulletin. 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