Dr. Sandrine Girardier, Historian and Museum Curator, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Grégoire Boillat, Montres Jaquet Droz Museum Curator and Watchmaker-Rhabilleur, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
May 3, 2021
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For the May 2021 lecture of the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), Dr. Sandrine Girardier, Historian and Museum Curator, and Grégoire Boillat, Montres Jaquet Droz Museum Curator and Watchmaker-Rhabilleur, discussed the works of Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-1790) and his son, Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz (1752-1791).
Jaquet-Droz had workshops in London, Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fonds and collaborated with the likes of Jean-Frédéric Leschot (1746 – 1824) and Henri Maillardet (1745 – 1830). If nothing else, Jaquet-Droz is well-known for creating the automatons that were built in the second half of the 18th Century: The Writer, The Draughtsman and The Harpsichord Player. The ‘automatons’ are described as such due to their human form. To see the movements of the androids and for further information on their restoration, check out the video on YouTube titled ‘Restauration des automates de Pierre et Henri Louis Jaquet Droz’.
The Writer
Considered to be one of the first computers in history because of the pre-programmed text that it writes such as, “Les automates Jaquet Droz a Neuchatel”
Form of a child on a stool writing on a mahogany desk
Can write up to 40 characters of the Latin alphabet
The Draughtsman
Contained three sets of interchangeable cams (like The Writer)
Had the capability to draw the portraits of Kings George the III and Louis the XV, a dog and a butterfly pulling a chariot with a cherub
The Harpsichord Player
Young girl sitting at an organ where the fingers activate the levers and exert pressure on the keyboard
The automaton can play five unique tunes on the instrument
Of interesting note, a fourth automaton was created in the form of a grotto, but it was not preserved. The sole known proof of existence is from an etching by Balthasar Antoine Dunker (1746 – 1807). In addition to the automatons, Jaquet-Droz created watches, clocks, birdcages, snuff boxes, flasks and rings.
Concluding the lecture, Grégoire Boillat gave a live demonstration of the following timepieces that are either signed or attributed to Jaquet-Droz:
Dead Beat Second Pocket Watch (circa 1775)
Enamel Pocket Watch that plays three distinct musical tunes and what Boillat playfully calls the ‘18th Century iPod’
Chiming Bird Watch that was released in 2015 and embodies the legacy of singing birds from Jaquet-Droz
HSNY thanks Dr. Sandrine Girardier and Grégoire Boillat for their fascinating lecture!
Submitted by Melody Benloss, Recording Secretary