LONDON (AP) - A pair of socks worn by a famous past national leader fetched a bid of $4,400 at Sotheby's auction house in London on Wednesday.
But the footwear had nothing to do with the Kennedys.
The short, black silk socks once covered the feet of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The Bata Shoe Museum of Toronto won the heated round of bidding for what is believed to be the last surviving pair of the emperor's socks.
The socks, decorated with embroidered pine cones, were worn in Napoleon's final days as a British captive on the barren island of St. Helena, according to Sotheby's.
Napoleon died on the island in 1821. The stockings were acquired by William Dickson, assistant surgeon on the British warship HMS Camel.
Napoleon apparently had not been reduced to wearing darned socks during his time in forced exile. But, Sothby's said, ''they are slightly faded around the foot, as you would expect a pair of used socks to look.''
The museum plans to display Napoleon's socks with other footwear of the famous and infamous, including shoes worn by Winston Churchill and Elvis Presley.
''I am delighted. We are always on the lookout for items related to famous people and Napoleon's socks fit the bill,'' museum representative Jeanette Ongaro said.
In addition to the socks, Ongaro also acquired the dust that was extracted when they were cleaned before the sale. The dust will be stored in the museum's archives.
