Memoirs of Constant, Private Life of Napoleon (1907) and L’Aiglon (1900). 

Size: (largest) 8 1/2 X 5 3/4 X 1 1/4 in. 

This lot consists of a four-volume set about Napoleon and one volume about his son, Napoleon II.  The four-volume-set is titled Memoirs of Constant, First Valet De Chambre of the Emperor on the Private Life of Napoleon, His Family and His Court, and the book about his son is titled L’Aiglon. 

The Memoirs of Constant set is bound in red cloth, with a gilt-ruled gray label with gilt letters on the spine that read “Private Life of Napoleon, Constant” and have a gilt N inside a wreath above Constant’s name, blank endpapers, frontispieces depicting different people or events   in the life of Napoleon followed by protective tissue guards, the title pages say the books were translated by Elizabeth Gilbert Warren and published in New York in 1907 by the Century, the copyright pages say the set was first published in 1895 by Charles Scribner’s Sons, and the top edges are gilt. Volume I has an eleven-page Preface to the first English edition, 336 pages of text, Volume II has 318 pages of text, the third volume has 307 pages of text, and the last volume has 315 pages of text, followed by an Index that runs to page 325, with uncut pages at the end of Volume IV. 

The full title of the book about Napoleon’s son is L’Aiglon, A Play In Six Acts, written by Edmond Rostand and published in New York by R H Russell in 1900, and it’s a first edition because it has only one date on the title page and copyright page and the dates match, and there are are no later printings listed. (See A Pocket Guide to the Identification of First Editions by Bill McBride.) The book is based on the life of Napoleon II, the son of Emperor Napoleon and his second wife, Empress Mary Louise. The title of the play, L’Aiglon, comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the French word for “eaglet” - a young eagle. The title role was created by Sarah Bernhardt in the play’s premier on March 15, 1900 at the Theatre Sarah Bernhardt and it became one of Sarah Bernhardt’s signature roles. The play premiered at New York’s Knickerbocker Theatre the same year, with Maude Adams in the title role. The book has deep blue boards with a gilt title and gilt decorations on the spine, girl lettering and gilt-ruled borders on the front cover, with gilt-decorated bees inside the gilt borders. The bee was a prominent symbol for Napoleon Bonaparte, chosen to represent his status as Emperor and linked to the early French monarchy, particularly the Merovingian kings, which was the first French royal dynasty. The bee was a personal and family emblem because it symbolized immortality and regeneration, and Napoleon used this connection to establish the legitimacy and perceived longevity of his regime. The book has blank endpapers, with the inscription “Lucy S. Overton Xmas 1900” on the front flyleaf, the frontis photo shows Maude Adams as L’Aiglon, the title page says the play was translated by Louis N. Parker and the publisher’s logo is at the bottom of the page, the bee appears on the copyright page, followed by a two-page list of the persons in the play - Maude Adams plays Napoleon II - then a portrait of Napoleon II as the Duke of Reichstadt, 262 pages of text, the abbreviation for the publisher is in gilt on the back cover (RHR), and the top edge is gilt. Edmond Rostand (1866 - 1918) was a French poet and dramatist, best known for his play Cyrano de Bergerac  (1897), and L’Aiglon was written only three years after that play. The books in the four-volume set by Constant measure 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches wide and are in very good condition, with tight bindings and clean pages and text. There is light wear and light bumps on the top and bottom of some of the spines, some tips are slightly curled in, small blemishes on some of the covers, and overall, an attractive set. L’Aiglon measures 8 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches wide and is in very good condition. It has a tight binding and clean pages and text, with light wear on the heel and crown of the spine and at the tips, two tips are slightly curled in, and there are dampstains at the bottom of a few pages towards the rear.