Napoleon's Wallpaper Resurfaces

Bonhams are selling a fragment of wallpaper reputed to have come from the room in Longwood House in which the Emperor Napoleon died in 1821. It is labelled on the reverse: 'Part of the paper of the room in which Napoleon died at St Helena brought over by an officer who was present at the time of his death.'

The souvenir has an accompanying note of provenance: 'Authenticated by Mrs Nethercote (nee Allix) whose relative Colonel Allix fought at Waterloo, and left by will to her niece F.E. Gatty.' Bonhams haven't quite secured the link back to the officer at Napoleon's deathbed, but they note that paper resembles that depicted in the anonymous watercolour painting of his deathbed scene in the Wellcome Collection (ref. 574949i).

Wallpaper fragment, reputedly from the room in Longwood House where Napoleon died in 1821. On sale at Bonhams London Knightsbridge and Online, 19 November 2025, Lot 20.

The fragment has a distinctly green element (more so than the famous sample from Shirley Bradley of Norfolk that came to light in 1980), but Bonhams have perhaps wisely steered clear of the theories about the deleterious effects of arsenic-laden green in Longwood House wallpaper. In any event, the sale is a happy excuse for us to reproduce both the fragment and the Wellcome's fabulous image here.

The Bonhams sale is on 19 November 2025 at their Knightsbridge showroom and also online. View the sale description and provenance research here.

The death of Napoleon Bonaparte, watercolour painting by an unknown artist, c. 1821. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection, London, Ref. 574949i.