Rare, Limited Edition Jaquet-Droz Benjamin Franklin Automaton or "Android,"

Lot 104

About Seller

274 Cedar Hill Street
Marlborough, MA 01752
United States

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Bid Increments

Price	Bid Increment
$0	$10
$100	$25
$500	$50
$1,000	$100
$3,000	$250
$5,000	$500
$10,000	$1,000
$30,000	$2,500
$50,000	$5,000
$100,000	$10,000
$300,000	$25,000
$500,000	$50,000
$1,000,000	$100,000

About Auction

Horology: The Estate of David G. Newsom by Bonhams Skinner

Live

Horology: The Estate of David G. Newsom

By Bonhams Skinner

Oct 22, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-10-22 10:00:00 2021-10-22 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Horology: The Estate of David G. Newsom https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/skinner/horology-the-estate-of-david-g-newsom-7579 This collection is the result of a lifetime of learning and passion for the art of timekeeping. We invite you to preview items, ask questions of our specialists, and learn more about the auction process at Skinner. Appointments are required to ensure safety and health. Bonhams Skinner bidsquare@bonhamsskinner.com

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Lot Description

Rare, Limited Edition Jaquet-Droz Benjamin Franklin Automaton or "Android," 20th century, Ben Franklin, with gray shoulder-length hair, porcelain head with blinking eyes, gilt-rimmed glasses, and elegantly tailored three-piece suit with velvet waistcoat sits at a delicately carved and inlaid burl walnut Sheraton card table, when the clockwork movement is activated, Mr. Franklin begins to write "We the People" in period script while his eyes follow the feather-topped writing instrument, the clockwork mechanism consisting of over 1,000 parts and constructed by eleven different craftsman can be seen from the rear of Mr. Franklin's waistcoat, and is engraved on outer central post "We the People," winding and activation lever at the side, all mounted on an inlaid walnut-veneered base, ht. 20 in.

Provenance: The estate of David G. Newsom.

Note: Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-1790) was the creator of a famed trio of "androids" or mechanical human figures: "The Writer," "The Lady Musician," and "The Draughtsman," which were built between 1768 and 1774 in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. They can still be seen today at the Museum of Art and History in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. This example was purchased from Royal Jewelers of Andover, Massachusetts, on July 9, 2009, for $205,250. The lot is accompanied by the original receipt, Jaquet-Droz folder with literature describing the contemporary reproductions of the trio that were conceptualized in 1994, and the book Androids/the Jaquet-Droz automatons, by Scriptar-F.M. Ricci.

Condition

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