Alfred Dreyfus Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in 1894 and imprisoned on Devil's Island. An 1898 investigation, forced largely by writer Émile Zola, proved that the papers upon which Dreyfus had been convicted were forged. Major Hubert Henry confessed his forgery and committed suicide in prison. A second forger, Major Marie-Charles Esterhazy, confessed in 1899 and went into exile in England. The case became the center of a major political division in France in which anti-Semitism played a major part. Dreyfus was tried and convicted a second time in 1899 but was pardoned by French President Émile Loubet. His original conviction was finally set aside in 1906. Dreyfus was restored to his rank and awarded the Legion of Honor.