- 77
A rare pearl-set gold and enamel singing bird box
bidding is closed
Description
A rare pearl-set gold and enamel singing bird box
the grille above the movement engraved: 'Hry. Maillardet, London', the case with makers' mark of Guidon, Gide & Blondel fils, Geneva, circa 1801-1804
of oval form, the oval lid painted en plein with Le Colin-maillard, split pearl frame and border, the ground, sides and base enamelled in translucent blue enamel over engine-turning with a bold sous-email lozenge pattern, the sides divided by appropriate taille d'epargne songbirds in cages between swags, the centre lid opening to reveal the brightly-plumaged automaton which sings and moves, the base with hinged compartment, small damage to enamel on lid
width 8.8 cm, 3 1/2 in
Henry Maillardet is a well-known but rather obscure figure in the world of automata in comparison with his more famous associates, James Cox, Pierre and Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frederic Leschot. One cannot be sure whether he was more of a middleman, salesman and showman, or an inventor/creator of automats in his own right. Certainly, like the others and often through circumstances outside their control, his career teetered precariously between success and more frequent financial difficulty. The printed facts about Maillardet and his family of clockmakers are often contradictory; original evidence appears to be widely scattered.
Jean-Henri-Nicolas, second son of Henri Maillardet and Marguerite Kolbe of La Chaux-de-Fonds, was baptised at Meyriez in Switzerland, on 21 November 1745. He and his two brothers are said to have been trained in the Jaquet-Droz workshops before establishing themselves as clockmakers in the village of Fontaines. In fact all three appear to have travelled extensively in Europe. Henry and Jean-David are recorded in 1769 as pendulistes under Huguenin working for Frederick the Great in Berlin; Jean-David spent time in Paris and Geneva and all the brothers are said to have visited London at various dates; one nephew died in Calcutta in 1807 and another is thought to have perished, according to the letters of J.F. Leschot, on a journey to Canton in 1793.
It is well-recorded, however, that a contract witnessed by James Cox was signed between Henry-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Henry Maillardet on 10 May 1783 establishing a London branch of the Jaquet-Droz business, called Jaquet-Droz & Leschot. Maillardet, was employed to run the firm's London business and workshop in Bartlett's Buildings. The tools belonged to the two partners equally and Maillardet was to receive a pension of £27 annually and the same sum for each of the workmen that he needed to feed and house. Jaquet-Droz promised to visit London from Geneva, where he was established in 1784, once a year to
supervise the business. On the strength of this, Henry married Louise Mourer of Lausanne; their daughter, Louisa Henrietta, was christened at St Andrew, Holborn on 20 March 1785 and their son, Edward Frederick, on 21 August 1786. Success was short-lived as the firm was in trouble by the late 80s and in liquidation in both London and Geneva after Pierre Jaquet-Droz's death in 1790 and that of his son Henri-Louis in 1791. Despite the originality and craftsmanship of the clocks, watches and automata created by the firm, they had invested too heavily in the China trade on their own account and in partnership with various London merchants and Cox & Beale of Canton.
The years between 1791 and 1798 were spent by Leschot in Geneva and Maillardet in London, trying to recreate the earlier successes of Jaquet-Droz and Leschot. Historical events were against them; Leschot's oft-quoted correspondence for these years, when read as a narrative, gives a vivid picture of his efforts to link up with Jaquet-Droz's former clients in London, Constantinople, Berlin and Paris; his efforts to continue producing innovative objects despite losing his best workmen at the threat of French invasion and his heroic efforts to keep supplying his biggest clients in London despite the successive closure of the ports in Calais and Ostend. All goods had to be sent via Hamburg greatly adding to the cost of cartage and insurance. Furthermore, the distance to Canton meant that the affairs of the original Jaquet-Droz businesses could not be finally settled for at least five years after the liquidation.
By 1798, after a reputed failed partnership with a neuchatelois called Matthey (perhaps Simeon Matthey), Henri Maillardet seems to have decided to change direction and set himself up as a showman. He took over the former premises of Cox's Museum, the Great Promenade Rooms in Spring Gardens (Proprietor: Mr Wigley, 'Inventor and Manufacturer of Elastic Spring Bands'), to show his 'Wonderful Automatons ... consisting of the Mechanical Musical Lady; the entertaining Fortune-Teller; the pleasing Tumbler; and the wonderful Writing Boy, with the beautiful Singing Bird in a Gold Snuff-box. Also a Siberian mouse etc., etc.' These were shown in various sessions until 1810 (1811 with Philippstal; 1817 according to Altick). It is still disputed as to whether these large automatons were actually the work of Maillardet himself or the Maillardet family. Some believe they were formerly made by the Jaquet-Droz Leschot or even partially left over from Cox's Museum. It is not currently known what then became of Henri or these machines and in 1827 his brother Jean-David wrote to his grandsons in England asking them to try and find out whether Henri was still alive. That same year, in fact, Henri had drafted his will in Malines (Mechelen) in Flanders where he died sometime before 24 August 1830 when the will was proved in London. He did not die in prosperity as he writes: 'the little I now possess consists of some moveables and immoveables and about nine hundred pounds sterling due to me' from George Home of Dublin and 325 pounds or thereabouts on three bonds 'due to me these twenty four years past in Chancery'.
It is possible to date this snuff box between 1801 and 1804, the years that Joseph Guidon, David Gide and Denis Blondel fils were in partnership 'pour suivre la fabrication et faire le commerce de bijouterie'. According to Leschot's Livre d'Ouvriers, the firm supplied him with : 2 tabatieres ovales en bleu ... au medaillon rapporte sur le Baton & ornement des 2 grandes cadres. Although by this date, he was no longer sending goods to Henri Maillardet in London, Leschot is known to have supplied Jean-David Maillardet with a singing bird box (a sa parfaite satisfaction) for which he was claiming payment of 130 louis d'or in September 1804. Thanks to the detail in Leschot's correspondence, enough can be gathered about his production to realise that at this date nobody but Leschot in Geneva and his colleague and ex-chef d'atelier, Jacob Frisard in Bienne, could have produced such a box. The first singing bird boxes had been by made Jaquet-Droz & Leschot around 1790 (see Winter-Jensen, no.8). When writing to the retailer Louis George in Berlin in February 1793, Leschot says: As for the singing bird snuffbox which you have seen, this mechanical piece certainly comes from our workshop. I had the honour to inform you a few years ago that we do this sort of work
putting a mechanical bird into a jewelled object such as a snuff box or scent bottle. We have always had the name engraved as if the piece had come from England because the general opinion is that everything which is made in that country is better worked, more refined and more substantial than from anywhere else ... Louis George was told that prices ranged between £135 and £140 for the basic bird box; £148 to £155 with two pearl borders and if diamond mounts were wanted, their value should be added to the prices quoted. Writing to Henri Maillardet in London in December of the same year about singing bird boxes, however, Leschot states that: I make them in three shapes: oval, round and rectangular [with cut corners]. I don't have any free at the moment but they cost between £110 and £130 each depending on the weight and the pearls with which they are decorated. Usually there is a little pearl frame round the edge of the medallion and for the oval and round ones we add a larger pearl frame round the edge of the snuff box. He states elsewhere that they can be enamelled in blue, turquoise or purple and the best and most up to date enamel paintings will be chosen for the medallions. He goes on to say that if Maillardet wants to buy bird boxes on his own account, he is going to have to come to an arrangement with Jn. Duval & Sons, the London merchants and exporters to the East, as Jaquet-Droz had previously promised them the exclusive rights in London. This, he felt, would not cause a problem since Maillardet already worked closely with the Duvals, apparently putting together and checking the pieces that Leschot sent to London from Geneva.
An interesting footnote to these letters, from the consumer's point of view, was given by Sir Horace Walpole writing on 5 March 1791 to the Misses Berry: 'I have been at Sir Joseph Banks's saturnalia, where was a Parisian [sic] watchmaker, who produced the smallest automaton that I suppose was ever created. It was a rich snuffbox, not too large for a woman. On opening the lid, an enamelled bird started up, sat on the rim, turned round, fluttered itswings, and piped in a delightful tone the notes of different birds, particularly the jug, jug, of the nightingale. It is the prettiest plaything you ever saw - the price tempting - only five hundred pounds [sic]. The economist the P[rince] of W[ales] could not resist it and has bought one of the dickeybirds'.
Literature:
L. Montandon & A. Chapuis, 'Les Maillardet', Musee Neuchatelois, 1917-18;
C. Perregaux & F.L. Perrot, Les Jaquet-Droz et Leschot, Neuchatel, 1916;
A. Chapuis & E. Gelis, Le Monde des Automates. Paris, 1928;
R. Altick, The Shows of London, Cambridge, 1978;
A. Winter-Jensen, Automates et Musiques, Musee de l'Horlogerie, Geneva, 1985;
and archival sources in Geneva and London
the grille above the movement engraved: 'Hry. Maillardet, London', the case with makers' mark of Guidon, Gide & Blondel fils, Geneva, circa 1801-1804
of oval form, the oval lid painted en plein with Le Colin-maillard, split pearl frame and border, the ground, sides and base enamelled in translucent blue enamel over engine-turning with a bold sous-email lozenge pattern, the sides divided by appropriate taille d'epargne songbirds in cages between swags, the centre lid opening to reveal the brightly-plumaged automaton which sings and moves, the base with hinged compartment, small damage to enamel on lid
width 8.8 cm, 3 1/2 in
Henry Maillardet is a well-known but rather obscure figure in the world of automata in comparison with his more famous associates, James Cox, Pierre and Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frederic Leschot. One cannot be sure whether he was more of a middleman, salesman and showman, or an inventor/creator of automats in his own right. Certainly, like the others and often through circumstances outside their control, his career teetered precariously between success and more frequent financial difficulty. The printed facts about Maillardet and his family of clockmakers are often contradictory; original evidence appears to be widely scattered.
Jean-Henri-Nicolas, second son of Henri Maillardet and Marguerite Kolbe of La Chaux-de-Fonds, was baptised at Meyriez in Switzerland, on 21 November 1745. He and his two brothers are said to have been trained in the Jaquet-Droz workshops before establishing themselves as clockmakers in the village of Fontaines. In fact all three appear to have travelled extensively in Europe. Henry and Jean-David are recorded in 1769 as pendulistes under Huguenin working for Frederick the Great in Berlin; Jean-David spent time in Paris and Geneva and all the brothers are said to have visited London at various dates; one nephew died in Calcutta in 1807 and another is thought to have perished, according to the letters of J.F. Leschot, on a journey to Canton in 1793.
It is well-recorded, however, that a contract witnessed by James Cox was signed between Henry-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Henry Maillardet on 10 May 1783 establishing a London branch of the Jaquet-Droz business, called Jaquet-Droz & Leschot. Maillardet, was employed to run the firm's London business and workshop in Bartlett's Buildings. The tools belonged to the two partners equally and Maillardet was to receive a pension of £27 annually and the same sum for each of the workmen that he needed to feed and house. Jaquet-Droz promised to visit London from Geneva, where he was established in 1784, once a year to
supervise the business. On the strength of this, Henry married Louise Mourer of Lausanne; their daughter, Louisa Henrietta, was christened at St Andrew, Holborn on 20 March 1785 and their son, Edward Frederick, on 21 August 1786. Success was short-lived as the firm was in trouble by the late 80s and in liquidation in both London and Geneva after Pierre Jaquet-Droz's death in 1790 and that of his son Henri-Louis in 1791. Despite the originality and craftsmanship of the clocks, watches and automata created by the firm, they had invested too heavily in the China trade on their own account and in partnership with various London merchants and Cox & Beale of Canton.
The years between 1791 and 1798 were spent by Leschot in Geneva and Maillardet in London, trying to recreate the earlier successes of Jaquet-Droz and Leschot. Historical events were against them; Leschot's oft-quoted correspondence for these years, when read as a narrative, gives a vivid picture of his efforts to link up with Jaquet-Droz's former clients in London, Constantinople, Berlin and Paris; his efforts to continue producing innovative objects despite losing his best workmen at the threat of French invasion and his heroic efforts to keep supplying his biggest clients in London despite the successive closure of the ports in Calais and Ostend. All goods had to be sent via Hamburg greatly adding to the cost of cartage and insurance. Furthermore, the distance to Canton meant that the affairs of the original Jaquet-Droz businesses could not be finally settled for at least five years after the liquidation.
By 1798, after a reputed failed partnership with a neuchatelois called Matthey (perhaps Simeon Matthey), Henri Maillardet seems to have decided to change direction and set himself up as a showman. He took over the former premises of Cox's Museum, the Great Promenade Rooms in Spring Gardens (Proprietor: Mr Wigley, 'Inventor and Manufacturer of Elastic Spring Bands'), to show his 'Wonderful Automatons ... consisting of the Mechanical Musical Lady; the entertaining Fortune-Teller; the pleasing Tumbler; and the wonderful Writing Boy, with the beautiful Singing Bird in a Gold Snuff-box. Also a Siberian mouse etc., etc.' These were shown in various sessions until 1810 (1811 with Philippstal; 1817 according to Altick). It is still disputed as to whether these large automatons were actually the work of Maillardet himself or the Maillardet family. Some believe they were formerly made by the Jaquet-Droz Leschot or even partially left over from Cox's Museum. It is not currently known what then became of Henri or these machines and in 1827 his brother Jean-David wrote to his grandsons in England asking them to try and find out whether Henri was still alive. That same year, in fact, Henri had drafted his will in Malines (Mechelen) in Flanders where he died sometime before 24 August 1830 when the will was proved in London. He did not die in prosperity as he writes: 'the little I now possess consists of some moveables and immoveables and about nine hundred pounds sterling due to me' from George Home of Dublin and 325 pounds or thereabouts on three bonds 'due to me these twenty four years past in Chancery'.
It is possible to date this snuff box between 1801 and 1804, the years that Joseph Guidon, David Gide and Denis Blondel fils were in partnership 'pour suivre la fabrication et faire le commerce de bijouterie'. According to Leschot's Livre d'Ouvriers, the firm supplied him with : 2 tabatieres ovales en bleu ... au medaillon rapporte sur le Baton & ornement des 2 grandes cadres. Although by this date, he was no longer sending goods to Henri Maillardet in London, Leschot is known to have supplied Jean-David Maillardet with a singing bird box (a sa parfaite satisfaction) for which he was claiming payment of 130 louis d'or in September 1804. Thanks to the detail in Leschot's correspondence, enough can be gathered about his production to realise that at this date nobody but Leschot in Geneva and his colleague and ex-chef d'atelier, Jacob Frisard in Bienne, could have produced such a box. The first singing bird boxes had been by made Jaquet-Droz & Leschot around 1790 (see Winter-Jensen, no.8). When writing to the retailer Louis George in Berlin in February 1793, Leschot says: As for the singing bird snuffbox which you have seen, this mechanical piece certainly comes from our workshop. I had the honour to inform you a few years ago that we do this sort of work
putting a mechanical bird into a jewelled object such as a snuff box or scent bottle. We have always had the name engraved as if the piece had come from England because the general opinion is that everything which is made in that country is better worked, more refined and more substantial than from anywhere else ... Louis George was told that prices ranged between £135 and £140 for the basic bird box; £148 to £155 with two pearl borders and if diamond mounts were wanted, their value should be added to the prices quoted. Writing to Henri Maillardet in London in December of the same year about singing bird boxes, however, Leschot states that: I make them in three shapes: oval, round and rectangular [with cut corners]. I don't have any free at the moment but they cost between £110 and £130 each depending on the weight and the pearls with which they are decorated. Usually there is a little pearl frame round the edge of the medallion and for the oval and round ones we add a larger pearl frame round the edge of the snuff box. He states elsewhere that they can be enamelled in blue, turquoise or purple and the best and most up to date enamel paintings will be chosen for the medallions. He goes on to say that if Maillardet wants to buy bird boxes on his own account, he is going to have to come to an arrangement with Jn. Duval & Sons, the London merchants and exporters to the East, as Jaquet-Droz had previously promised them the exclusive rights in London. This, he felt, would not cause a problem since Maillardet already worked closely with the Duvals, apparently putting together and checking the pieces that Leschot sent to London from Geneva.
An interesting footnote to these letters, from the consumer's point of view, was given by Sir Horace Walpole writing on 5 March 1791 to the Misses Berry: 'I have been at Sir Joseph Banks's saturnalia, where was a Parisian [sic] watchmaker, who produced the smallest automaton that I suppose was ever created. It was a rich snuffbox, not too large for a woman. On opening the lid, an enamelled bird started up, sat on the rim, turned round, fluttered itswings, and piped in a delightful tone the notes of different birds, particularly the jug, jug, of the nightingale. It is the prettiest plaything you ever saw - the price tempting - only five hundred pounds [sic]. The economist the P[rince] of W[ales] could not resist it and has bought one of the dickeybirds'.
Literature:
L. Montandon & A. Chapuis, 'Les Maillardet', Musee Neuchatelois, 1917-18;
C. Perregaux & F.L. Perrot, Les Jaquet-Droz et Leschot, Neuchatel, 1916;
A. Chapuis & E. Gelis, Le Monde des Automates. Paris, 1928;
R. Altick, The Shows of London, Cambridge, 1978;
A. Winter-Jensen, Automates et Musiques, Musee de l'Horlogerie, Geneva, 1985;
and archival sources in Geneva and London