A French Mystery Clock
A Short Description and History of an Unusual and Rare Mystery Clock
The 4½ inch glass dial to this remarkable timepiece has Roman numerals, a single gilt metal arrow hand and a circular bezel supported by a foliate cast socle flanked by griffins which rest upon an ogee shaped base applied with foliate mounts. The movement strikes on a bell with an outside countwheel. The rear of the case is stamped "Brevet D'Invention" and numbered "30" to the inside and movement plate. The ormolu case sits upon a gilt wood base carved in relief with scrolls and shell decoration and resting on a red covered base.
The hand appears to move around the glass dial without any form of assistance. In reality a rod runs up through the pillar and connects to a further one going along the right hand of the top of the case. A worm screw is attached to this and connects to a second invisible glass dial set behind the main one. The hand is attached to this through the front dial and therefore turns as the rear glass turns.
Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin was probably the most famous and innovative illusionist of his, or any other, time with his stage shows being played out to nobility across Europe including performances in front of Queen Victoria & Napoléon III. But as well as his magical skills he was also a great inventor being one of the first men to apply electricity in horology and using his skill in creating optical illusions for the ophthalmology profession. His love of optical tricks allied with his training as a clockmaker allowed him to invent a series of Mystery clocks of which this is the type commonly known as the second series, the first having a more ornate base and an enamel dial as opposed to the glass one seen here.
Robert-Houdin was born on 6th December 1806 to a Father who was a talented watchmaker working at 68 Grande-Rue in Blois, France. It was from sneaking into his Father's workshop to observe and touch the items within that the young Jean Eugene Robert first obtained his love of the mechanical (the Houdin name was added after the marriage to his first wife Josephe Houdin in July 1830). After a short lived job as a copy clerk Jean Eugene finally persuaded his family to allow him to take up an apprenticeship as a watchmaker with his cousin Jean Martin Robert. It is at this point that fate took a turn when his cousin suggest he buy a book on watchmaking to aid him in his studies. Jean Eugene went to a bookseller to obtain a copy of Berthoud's 'Treatise on Clockmaking' but the bookseller gave him the wrong book and he ended up with the 'Dictionaire Encyclopedique des Amusuments des Sciences, Mathamatiques et Physiques' with many descriptions of conjuring tricks. In a further twist of fate when it was announced that Jean Eugene was competent enough to become a journeyman for his cousin he was sent to get experience with the clockmaker Noriet in Tours, but at some point he suffered food poisoning and in a delirious state set of for his hometown during which he was thrown from the carriage. He was rescued by Giovanni Torrini, the famous travelling conjurer who nursed him back to health. Despite wanting to stay with Torrini, Jean Eugene returned to Blois getting a job as a watch and clock cleaner but by now found the job unsatisfying. An inheritance from his grandfather in 1829 was all he needed to leave the profession and set up his own light comedy company and head for Paris.
In Paris he met his first wife, Josephe Houdin, the daughter of the fine chronometer and watchmaker Jacques Houdin who had worked with Brequet until the latter's death in 1823. He invited Jean Eugene to work with him at Rue de Harley and in July 1830 he married Josephe and restyled his name Robert-Houdin, no doubt looking to future and the kudos that the Houdin name had in the horological world.
A drawing of Houdin doing his clock trick on stage where he asks a member of the audience to call out an hour and the clock strikes the appropriate time. with no apparent method as there are no connections. it was all done by electricity through the supports.
The now Robert-Houdin set up at 68, Rue Vielle-de-Temple in an area of Paris, the Marais district, known for fine craftsmen and innovators and started developing and making his mystery and automata clocks with the help of his semi-retired father in law. Many of his clocks were used as props in his stage show including 'The Player with the Beaker' and 'The Singing Birds'.
The first of his mystery clocks was shown at the Exhibition of the French Industry of 1839 where he was awarded a bronze medal. He continued making various types of mystery clocks including this example which was made from 1837 onwards.
His stage performances continued and after touring England in 1848 he was asked to undertake a private performance for Queen Victoria and her family at Buckingham Palace.
In later life Robert-Houdin returned to the field of optics winning a gold medal at the 1867 Universal Exhibition and published many papers on ophthalmology. In 1858 he was elected a member of the Societe des Sciences et Lettres de Loir et Cher and in 1869 a member of the Societe des Gens de Letters. He died, aged 65, of pneumonia on the 13th of June 1871.
