Gandhi plea, Napoleon Love Letter to be Sold
One of the world’s greatest collections of historical letters – kept in a filing cabinet in a Swiss laundry room and almost forgotten – is to be auctioned in London.
The treasure of almost 1,000 documents collected over 30 years by a wealthy Austrian banker living in the western Swiss city of Lausanne, includes letters written by Winston Churchill, Peter the Great, Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth I.
The extensive collection, which is estimated to fetch about £2 million (SFr4.87 million) at Christie’s, was put together over 30 years by the late Albin Schram.
An early love letter from Napoleon to Josephine is one of only three known correspondences addressed by the French emperor to his future wife.
The letter was written one morning after a heated argument, apparently over Josephine’s wealth.
Napoleon’s touching reply admits that he had been angry and declares his love.
MORE: A letter from Indian leader Gandhi, estimated to sell for up to £12,000, was written 19 days before his assassination in 1948 and pleads for tolerance of Muslims.