EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: Original 19th Century Red Earthenware Roof Tile from the Napoleon House in New Orleans

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Original 19th Century Red Earthenware Roof Tile from the Napoleon House in New Orleans

The Napoleon House is a 200 year old landmark in New Orleans' French Quarter neighborhood in Louisiana. The building's first occupant, Nicholas Girod (1751-1840), was mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815, and he offered his residence to Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) in 1821, as a refuge during his exile. However, Napoleon never made it, but the name stuck, and this is how it has been known ever since.

Earlier this week, an original nineteenth century red earthenware roof tile from the Napoleon House sold on eBay, which had been installed in 1814, almost twenty years after the house was built in 1797. The tile was among a group of 250 tiles that were sold as souvenirs when the roof was replaced at the beginning of the twentieth century. I do not know where the tiles were made, but I expect they are likely from a European manufacturer.

According to the information that accompanied this tile, "In January, 2000, the Napoleon House suffered catastrophic roof damage from an unusually severe hail storm. The thick, clay "pan" tiles of the historic building's roof, installed in 1814, had withstood heavy rains, hurricanes, broiling sunshine, and other hail storms for over 185 years. When a new roof of pan tiles, made in France, was installed in April 2002, a limited number of the original tiles were preserved and framed. This tile's association with one of the historic landmarks of the French Quarter, and its witnessing of nearly two centuries of New Orleans History, make it a very special keepsake.

The Napoleon House has been designated an historic building by the United States Department of the Interior. Construction was begun in 1797 as a private home for the mayor of the city, Nicholas Girod. The name is derived from a plot (in which the pirate, Jean Lafitte, participated) to rescue the emporer from exile on the Island of St. Helena. The house was being enlarged and was offered to Napoleon in 1821 as his home in the new world. However, Napoleon died before the plan could be fulfilled."

19th Century Roof Tile from the Napoleon House in New Orleans