,a few remarks concerning makers of ,singing ,bird boxes of the ,eighteenth and ,nineteenth ,centuries ,tiffany and ,co4 ,new ,york ,singing ,bird boxes ,the invention of these marvellous pieces of mechanism dates from about the middle of the eighteenth century4 ,when they first appeared they were so highly praised that they were immediately bought by the principal ,courts of ,europe1 and it is only later1 at the beginning of the nineteenth century1 that the very high class of people could acquire the rare specimen that came now and then on the market4-- ,the characteristic of the antique singing bird snuff boxes1 is that the bird1 when singing and moving its wings1 opens its beak1 when turning the head4 ,it is unfortunate to say1 that modern watchmakers have not acquired the skilfulness of their predecessors1 and that in modern boxes this triple movement can no more be obtained4 ,this is1 as a matter of fact1 one of the first means of distinguishing an antique bird box1 from a modern one4-- ,illustration3 ,singing ,bird ,box ,signed 8,jaquet-,droz and ,leschot ,london0 7from an old engraving7 ,actually in the collection of ,mr ,luis ,dubois-,favre ,le ,loele1 ,switzerland4 ,the discovery of these small curious pieces of mechanism is due to a ,swiss watchmaker whose name is ,pierre ,jaquet-,droz ,this wonderful artist was born at ,la ,chaux de ,fonds 7,switzerland7 on the #bhth of ,july #agba4 ,his parents1 rich peasants1 seeing the great dispositions of their ,child for ,study1 had projected to make a clergyman of him1 and consequently sent him to study theology at ,neuchtel4 ,during his holidays1 which he used to spend at one of his sisters1 who1 having abandoned the old industry of this city1 which was lacemaking1 married a watchmaker1 the young ,peter was deeply interested in all mechanics1 and spent all his time working at his sister's workshop4 ,he soon became so industrious that everybody induced him to leave ,theology and become a watchmaker4 ,his improvement astonished even the oldest and very best workmen1 and he soon became their master4 ,it was about the year #ageb1 the year of his marriage1 that he made his first singing bird1--in a gold snuff box1 the bird appearing and singing when opening the box to take snuff4-- ,his fame became so universal1 that in #ageh he was summoned by the ,king of ,spain1 for whom he worked1 and made such marvellous automata that the ,santa ,inquisition1 at a certain time wanted to condemn him as a 8,sorcier10 a very terrible charge at that time4 ,illustration3 ,pierre ,jaquet-,droz ,henri ,louis ,jaquet-,droz ,from a design by ,girardet 7#agie7 ,illustration3 ,signature of ,pierre ,jaquet-,droz ,the ,king of ,spain having died soon afterwards1 he returned to ,la ,chaux de ,fonds in #agei4 ,in #agfg he sent his son ,henri ,louis ,jaquet-,droz to ,france1 where he studied mathematics in the ,university of ,nancy 7,lorraine7 and on his return1 three years later1 he took him into partnership with him4-- ,the productions of the father and the son then attained the utmost of perfection4 ,in collaboration with his father and of the very best workmen of that time1 ,leschot1 ,maillardet1 and ,jean ,pierre ,droz 7who became ,director of the ,paris ,mint7 ,henry ,louis ,jaquet-,droz1 made the most marvellous pieces that have ever been produced2--the ,designer1 the ,clavecin ,player1 the ,young ,writer1 wonderful specimens which still can be seen in perfect condition and still working in the ,museum of ,neuchtel4 ,in #aggd1 ,henry ,louis ,jaquet-,droz came to ,paris and was received with the greatest favor by ,king ,louis ,,xvith and especially by the young ,queen ,marie ,antoinette1 who had ascended to the ,throne the same year1 who was particularly and deeply interested in his ,works after she had seen the 8,designer0 by pressing a button1 making her own portrait and that of the ,king's on a blank sheet of paper placed before the instrument4--7,this can still be seen in ,neuchtel every month1 and also at any time by payment of a fee47 ,jaquet-,droz afterwards went to ,england1 where he was received by ,king ,george ,,iii4 ,it is in ,england that he made most of the singing bird boxes known of his construction4 ,he started a workshop in ,london where the most important and interesting pieces in complicated watches and boxes were made1--which after were to be found in almost every part of the world1 even in ,china1 as in #ahfj on the occasion of the pillage of the ,summer ,palace of the ,emperor of ,china1 many pieces signed by ,jaquet-,droz were discovered and brought back to ,europe4 ,illustration3 ,gold1 enamel and diamond ,bird ,box by 8,bruguier--the ,father0 ,collection ,tiffany ,co41 ,new ,york ,every one is aware how much works of this nature are appreciated by the ,chinese in general1 and the fact that several of ,jaquet-,droz's productions were in possession of the ,emperor of ,china is a sufficient proof of the genius of this artisan4-- ,peter ,jaquet-,droz died on the #bhth ,november #agij aged #fi years4-- ,his son ,henri ,louis ,jaquet-,droz whose health had always been delicate died in ,naples1 where he had gone for a cure1 on the #aeth ,november #agia aged #ci years4-- 99 99 99 99 99 ,little is known of the life and history of other manufacturers of ,singing ,bird boxes1 as they were artisans in a very small way of business1 working quite by themselves1 in villages surrounding ,geneva4-- ,the following is all we could find about them4---- ,charles ,bruguier ,charles ,bruguier1 is better known under the name of ,bruguier le ,pre 7,bruguier the ,father71 was born in about #agej and died in #ahcj4 ,he had two sons3 #a ,jacques ,bruguier whose date of birth and death are unknown1 and #b ,charles ,bruguier known as ,charles ,abraham ,bruguier or 8,bruguier-the-,son0 born in #aghh and dead in #ahfb1 leaving his brother and his son who died in #ahhf1 thus ending this family4 ,the three ,bruguiers made very elaborate and fine bird boxes which they marked with their full name1 and a number indicating date of same4 ,illustration3 ,silver gilt and enamel ,bird ,box signed 8,charles ,bruguier1 ,rue des ,pquis #e1 ,genve0 7,charles ,bruguier-the-,son's own handwriting7 ,collection ,tiffany ,co41 ,new ,york ,bruguier du ,grand ,pr ,this artist lived about at the same time as ,bruguier the ,father1 that is from about #agej to #ahbg1 but the exact dates of his birth and death are uncertain4 ,the pieces of ,bruguier du ,grand ,pr1 are generally smaller than those of ,bruguier the ,father--and are considered by connoisseurs as superior4 ,he lived in the surroundings of ,geneva1 and marked his pieces with his mark and a number indicating the date of manufacture4 ,the ,rochat ,family ,pierre ,rochat was born in the year #aghj1 he lived with his two sons ,ami ,napolon ,rochat and ,louis ,rochat1 at a place called 8,chez ,meillau0 au ,brassus1 ,valley of the ,lake of ,joux1 ,switzerland4 ,he devoted himself with his sons to the manufacture of ,geneva music boxes and other small pieces of the same kind1--most of them hidden in various small objects1 such as snuff boxes1 bonbon boxes etc4 ,after having lost his fortune in building speculations1 the ,rochat family came to ,geneva in #ahae and prospered again by making most curious marvels of small mechanics1 which were highly appreciated by the connoisseurs and sold to the principal courts of ,europe4-- ,pierre ,rochat had been for some time in the employ of ,jaquet-,droz4-- ,ami ,napolon ,rochat the eldest son1 made a speciality of the singing bird boxes which established the reputation of the name of ,rochat all over the world4-- ,illustration3 ,silver gilt and enamel singing ,bird ,box by ,charles ,bruguier ,collection ,tiffany ,co41 ,new ,york ,the work was absolutely perfect1 especially the singing and extreme complication and smallness of the mechanism the bird opening its beak and turning its head when singing4 ,louis ,rochat the second son was in that line even better than his brother2 he conceived and executed the most curious and complicated pieces1 which have never been imitated since2 for instance singing bird watches and the famous ,singing bird ,pistols1 where a bird appeared and sang out of the barrel when pressing the trigger4 ,a very rare specimen of such pistol is in the ,bernard ,frank collection in ,paris1 one of the most renowned collections in ,paris4-- ,in #ahbi ,louis ,rochat made a curious and complicated clock1 for which he was awarded by a special diploma1 and appointed 8,companion of the ,watchmakers and scientists of the city of ,geneva40-- ,illustration3 ,silver gilt and enamel ,bird ,box by ,charles ,bruguier-the-,son ,collection ,tiffany ,co41 ,new ,york ,lami of ,geneva ,this artist was born in #ahaj and died in #aijb4 ,he made singing bird boxes of the same size and grade of work as the ,bruguiers4 ,they are just as well quoted by connoisseurs as these1 but they are very difficult to recognize as he did not mark nor number them4-- 99 99 99 99 99 ,to these different names it is only right that we should add that of the ,maillardet ,family3 ,jean ,david ,maillardet and ,auguste ,maillardet who have made many small mechanical works1 after their collaboration with the ,jaquet-,droz4 ,unfortunately they very seldom signed their pieces1 and the documents respecting their biography are consequently inexistent4 ,some of their works have anyhow come under our notice1 for instance a snuff box which belongs to a private collection of ,neuchtel and is loaned to the ,museum of ,la ,chaux de ,fonds4 ,the origin of that piece has been traced as it has been won in a lottery1 the curious advertisement concerning which 7dated #bg ,march #ahdg7 is still to be seen in the ,museum of ,la ,chaux de ,fonds4 ,the number of tickets issued for the lottery was #bgjj1 each of which was valued at 8#c ,francs of ,france40 ,this snuff box1 bearing ,no #e1 was valued at the time at #dbj 8,francs of ,france0 7what should its value be now78 ,the second piece is a 8,magician0 executing all sorts of tricks1 which is still exhibited in the ,museum of ,la ,chaux de ,fonds4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 #aiaj ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #b4 ,archaic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings retained as printed4 #c4 ,this book was hand-written4 #d4 ,superscripts are denoted by a caret before a single superscript character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly braces1 e4g4 ,mr4 or ,mister4