Cryptologic History:
The Napoleon Letter
Donated By: Dr. David Kahn
One of the most unique and rare items donated by Dr. Kahn was a signed and framed 1806 letter from Napoleon to his son Prince Eugene Napoleon. This letter is a reference to Napoleon spying on the Archbishop of Silesia, a likely precursor to the 1812 War of Liberation. In the letter Napoleon instructs his son to “keep sending me the letters from the Archbishop of Silesia sent from Rome to Dresden. The key has been found here so that they can be read just like ordinary writing. But it is necessary to let them continue on their way while copying them exactly.”
Dr. Kahn acquired this incredible letter in 1984 in a sale of rare authenticated documents by the Altman Company in New York.