France - Sainte-Hélène; Paris; Club du Livre, Paris - Testament de Napoléon - 1961-1980

Facsimile of the actual document Napoleon dictated on Saint Helena.
This is a complete 1969 edition reproducing, in exact facsimile, the original manuscript of Napoleon Bonaparte's last will and testament — written in his own hand at Longwood House, Saint Helena, in April 1821, weeks before his death. The edition was published in Paris to mark the bicentenary of Napoleon's birth (1769–1969).
Consist of two volumes in a fitted case:

The facsimile volume — a faithful reproduction of the complete original document held at the French National Archives, including all codicils, attached statements, letters, and instructions Napoleon dictated regarding his estate, his son, and his wishes for burial "on the banks of the Seine."

The companion volume — a full typed transcription with historical and archival commentary (24 pages), written and presented by Jean-Pierre Babelon, curator of the Musée de l'Histoire de France, and Suzanne d'Huart, curator at the Archives Nationales — the two scholars who had direct custodial access to the original.

Both volumes are housed together in the edition's original presentation case, lined with red velvet/fabric, exactly as issued in 1969.

Napoleon's testament is one of the most personally revealing documents of his life — bitter, defiant, and meticulous, naming those he blamed for his downfall and those he wished to reward. This 1969 scholarly facsimile is the closest most collectors will ever get to holding the original, complete with the institutional pedigree of the Archives Nationales behind it.