FOLDING COT KNOWN AS "DU PETIT MODELE". Made of steel, fold - Lot 202

Lot n° 202
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Estimation :
6000 - 8000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 11 875EUR
FOLDING COT KNOWN AS "DU PETIT MODELE". Made of steel, fold - Lot 202
FOLDING COT KNOWN AS "DU PETIT MODELE". Made of steel, foldable, resting on 6 feet with brass castors. Uprights topped with brass balls. The imperial rests on a frame made of four iron rods, fixed at the top by a brass ball and a wooden cone. Height : 216 cm. Width : 188 cm. Depth: 90 cm. Manufacture attributed to Marie Jean Desouches, locksmith of the Garde-Meuble of H.M. the Emperor and King - 835 rue de Verneuil (then n°18) in Paris B.E. First Empire period. History: DESOUCHES: locksmith of the furniture guard of S.M. the Emperor and King, patent of invention for the portable iron beds, street of Verneuil, 18 (Almanach of the Trade of Paris, Departments of the French Empire, year 1812). This type of bed, which the Emperor had adopted, was also made for senior officers. Some known deliveries: - 1809, two beds including one large one, 1813, six beds including several large ones. Example of a description on an invoice from Desouches, in 1809: "Another field bed of the small model, being able to be transported with back of mule, with imperial, exhaussé carrying platinum and apple out of gilded copper, the gilded ornaments and its case out of leather doubled of sheet, 1100F, two leather carries coats and four straps, 360F". (Archives Nationales - A. Maze-Sencier, Les fournisseurs de Napoléon Ier). Extract from the presentation of the camp bed made by Desouches: "When he (Desouches) was well assured of the success of his invention, he understood all the benefit he could draw from it as a camp bed for the army. He requested and obtained an audience with the First Consul and was allowed to present his first bed to him at the Château de Saint Cloud... He appeared before Napoleon, his bed under his arm, unfolded it and folded it in his presence with the greatest celerity, which infinitely pleased this active genius who already governed Europe. After several brief and energetic questions, by which he knew so well how to judge a man at first sight, he objected that the rust would soon set in... Desouches replied that his grenadiers would clean it like their rifle barrels. This answer flattered Napoleon, who did not haggle over the price. "How much is your bed?" asked Napoleon. "A thousand francs" (that was three times its value). Napoleon replied: "Make me six in a row". How far he was from foreseeing that he would one day die on one of these cots on a desert island, for this was his only bed on St. Helena. (M. V. Brasart, dissertation, 2002 "Mobilier et objets militaires de campagne de 1790 à 1815") 'SMALL MODEL' STEEL, SIX-LEGGED CAMP-BED WITH BRASS CASTERS
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