Napoleon hair sold

Auckland, June 30 (Reuters): A lock of hair cut from Napoleon Bonaparte’s head after he died has sold for $13,000 at an auction in New Zealand.

Extra phone lines were installed for the sale to cope with an expected rush of international buyers seeking to snip up the hair cut from the head of former French Emperor a day after his death in 1821 while he was in exile on the island of St Helena.

The circle of hair was part of a collection brought to New Zealand in 1864 by Denzil Ibbetson, a British commissary officer and artist. Ibbetson served on St Helena during the six years that Napoleon was held on the island after being defeated at the Battle of Waterloo.