Diminutive in height, Napoleon Bonaparte — the man who proclaimed himself Emperor of France — looms large in history and legend. But it's the small things that help to tell his story in the exhibit "Napoleon: An Intimate Portrait," which will be at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee Feb. 6-April 30.

More than 250 rare personal possessions will be on display, from Napoleon's famous cocked hat to a lock of wife Josephine's hair as well as framed paintings, prints and documents and furniture from the imperial palaces.

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Napoleon Bonaparte wears a bright red coat in Antoine-Jean Gros' oil painting, circa 1802.
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Five carats of diamonds surround an 1809 signet ring with Napoleon's monogram.
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Organized by the Russell Etling Co. of Coral Gables, Fla., the traveling exhibition comes to Tallahassee after its debut at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. This is the only Southeast stop.

Tallahassee's connection to France dates to the 1830s when French settlers sent by Gen. Marquis de Lafayette immigrated to an area north of downtown still known as Frenchtown. Among the residents during the territorial and early statehood days was Napoleon's nephew, Achille Murat, whose mother was Napoleon's sister. Murat and his wife, Catherine, are buried in Tallahassee at St. John's Episcopal Church cemetery.

In addition to the 4,500-square-foot exhibit drawn from the collection of Pierre-Jean Chalençon, a noted authority and author, complementary exhibitions will be mounted at other museums in the city.

The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science is currently hosting "Napoleon's La Description de l'Egypte" and will host "Women of the Napoleonic Era" Feb. 17-April 2. The show will feature portraits, jewelry, apparel and furniture in a salon-style setting. (850-513-0143, www.thebrogan.org.)

"Napoleon and His Contemporaries" at the Tallahassee Museum of History & Natural Science (Feb. 1-April 30) features 60 lithographs, engravings and etchings as well as an original drawing by H.S. Paro.

During the exhibit, tours of Bellevue, the 1840s residence purchased by Achille Murat's widow, will be offered the first and third Saturdays along with other Napoleon-related activities. Relocated to the grounds of the museum in 1960, it was restored and decorated with period furnishings and opened as a house museum. (850-575-8684, www.tallahasseemuseum.org.)

Goodwood Museum and Gardens is featuring the exhibit "French Collections at Goodwood," a display of period, French-themed items including small painted images of 18th-century French court women framed in ebony and ivory, letters written by Marie Antoinette, French fashion illustrations from the 1810s and 1820s and a table reputedly from Versailles. Goodwood is on the western portion of the original land grant given to Lafayette and later purchased by Hardy Croom of North Carolina. (850-877-4202 www.taltrust.org/goodwood.htm.)

Several hotels are offering packages in conjunction with the exhibit. The Governors Inn's Great Escape package at $139 a night features in-room champagne upon arrival, $30 dinner gift certificate and a French pastry breakfast. The 1937 Wakulla Springs Lodge, a 27-room lodge listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has a Napoleon Getaway Special, $119 per night, with dinner for two, a river cruise and signature French toast for breakfast. The Inn at Park Avenue, a renovated Victorian bed-and-breakfast built in 1838, boasts elegant antique beds, hardwood floors and complimentary nightly cocktails toasting the emperor for $120 per night.

For lodging, call the Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-628-2866 or visit www.seetallahassee.com.

For more information about the Napoleon exhibit, call the Museum of Florida History at 850-245-6400 or visit www.museumoffloridahistory.com.