Birdcage Napoleon

In 1819, the French general and grand marshal, Henri-Gratien Bertrand, who had accompanied Napoleon into exile, designed a large birdcage for Longwood House’s gardens.  Chinese carpenters, who otherwise spent their time repairing the poorly-constructed house, built the cage and stocked it with doves and pheasants. At first, Napoleon admired it, but he was known to […]