Imperial Crown of Emperor Napoleon III, 1938 (colour litho)

Made in 1855 by the French Court jeweller, Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier (c.1808-84) for Napoleon III (1808-73), Empereur des Français (1852-70); he did not wear this crown, adorned with 8 eagles, as there was no coronation ceremony, but it can be seen in formal portraits of the emperor; no longer in existence and broken up at the sale of the French Crown Jewels in 1887; a crown of similar design and made for his wife, the Empress Eugénie, has survived and is in the Louvre Museum; from a series of illustrations of famous royal crowns published by the cigarette manufacturer, Godfrey Phillips, to coincide with the public interest in royalty and regalia after the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937;