Napoleon's high boots were 'abundant' in the auction

The boots used by Emperor Napoleon I during the last exile earned $ 128,000 at the Paris auction on Friday.

The boots were used by Emperor Napoleon I during the exile in 1815. (Image: Business Times).

The two size 40 boots were kept by Earl Henri Gatien Bertrand, the general who accompanied Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte) during his last exile on the island of St. Helena was far away in the South Atlantic, after receiving a defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, auctioneers said.

Bertrand brought Napoleon I boots to France after his leader died in 1821 and presented it to Carlo Marochetti as a model when the French sculptor sculpted Bonaparte on a horse.

His son later donated the boots to politician Paul le Roux, a minister of the Second French Empire ruled by his nephew Bonaparte Napoleon III. The family of Paul le Roux has kept the boots so far, auctioneers Binoche & Giquello said.

Emperor Napoleon I owned a large collection of shoes, purchased from shoemakers in Montmartre, Paris. His turtleneck boots were initially expected to fetch 50,000 to 80,000 euros, but when the auction ended, it was bought for up to 117,000 euros ($ 128,000), more than double the estimate.