Note: This watch bears comparison with lot 36 ( watch No. 3388, sold on 29 August 1821). Although the layout of the train is similar, there are considerable differences, the latter being of much thinner caliber and very definitely superior in quality as would be expected of a Premiere Classe watch. Typical of French hunting-cased watches of the period, the XII is adjacent to the pendant, although in the case of this lot there is no seconds hand and the repeating piston is mounted in the band.
MARQUISE D'OSMOND Extracts from Les Salons d'Autrefois by Madame la Comtesse de Bassanville (in translation).
"Mademoiselle Destillères was not pretty, indeed she was somewhat ugly, but she had a lot of wit, of tact and was favoured with remarkable good sense. Having money and a desire to acquire a title, she married the Marquis d'Osmond, a young beau of the time, utterly without fortune, but well endowed with debts." Her father, Monsieur Destillères, was a businessman and one of the principal members of the la bande noire, who had come up to Paris in 1789. On his death, around 1820, he was able to leave his daughter an annual income of 8 thousand pounds. The salon of the Marquise d'Osmond was located opposite the Rue de la Paix in Paris. The coup d'état in the late 1820's forced her to move to Florence. " Madame d'Osmond had found the way to the affections of the Marquise de Pastoret and it was through the Marquis himself that the portals of this aristocratic Faubourg had been opened to the one who was still known as la petite Destillères. Yet how she must have suffered - in this Faubourg St. Gervais where nothing is ever forgotten - when the sad little story of the document case befell the unsuspecting Monsieur de Pastoret. Many of you may well not have heard or have perhaps forgotten this unworthy tale, which I relate here. In the latter years of the government of Louis-Philippe, Monsieur le Marquis was contemplating a month-long visit to the Comte de Chambord, whose interests he represented in France at that time. Prior to his departure, his prime cause of anxiety was the safekeeping of a document case containing papers of the greatest importance. If a populace as crafty and unpredictable as les Parisiens had been capable of mounting a revolution in three days, what might they not achieve in a month ? A brilliant idea came to the mind of the unhappy Marquis. Could not this same lady - a term quite inadequate when applied to this godsent incarnation of all the charms and virtues to be found here below - could not this angel become the guardian of his precious casket ? Having listened to the Marquis' pressing request, the heroine of our tale was finally persuaded to accept, allowing the Marquis to set off on his journey, his mind at rest. Imagine his consternation on his return, when calling to recover his document case, he found himself confronted not with the guardian angel he had imagined, but rather a vulgar extorsionist. Pleading unexpectedly straightened circumstances, the lady demanded the instant payment of no less than 60, 000 francs before she would restore his property. Concealing his shock and with all the good -race that a gentleman of his quality could muster, the Marquis promised to despatch his secretary witH this enormous sum on the morrow, just as soon as he could assemble it. No sooner had he departed than the lady, struck by the readiness of the Marquis to accept her demands, became eonvinced that she had not been suficiently bold. The case must clearly be worth much more ! A devilish idea entered her head : without wasting an instant, she called up her carriage and was driven round to the Prefecture of Police, where her claims to have access to matters of the highest import - coupled with the Prefecture's interest in her liaison with the Comte de Chambord's chargé d'affaires - ensured swift entry to the office of the Préfet himself, Monsieur Delessert. The price that our heroine was now demanding - no less than 100,000 francs - nevertheless prompted the Préfet to respond with caution. A matter as important as this required the decision of the King himself, who conveniently was to be found at the Tuileries. Trembling inwardly that her -reed was beginning to jeopardize not only the transaction, but even possibly her freedom, the lady-bravely consented and, shortly thereafter found herself in the presence of his Majesty, to whom the Préfet briefly exposed the matter. The King, whilst having no reason to doubt her claim, nevertheless insisted on seeing the contents of the document case. Trapped, the angel had no alternative but to surrender it into tie royal hands. Without even opening it, his Majesty passed it over to one of his courtiers to be restored immediately to the Marquis de Pastoret. "And tell him that I am most pleased to have had this opportunity to serve him", and with a final glance of disdain towards the lady, the King turned on his heel. An act of nobility you might think - though there were many who believed that the King had been prompted by more than just a sense of honour. Might not his secret police, whose talents no-one underestimated, have already supplied him with the contents of the case which he had now so generously restored to the Marquis ? The story was on everyone's lips at the time and the Marquis was universally condemned for the irresponsibility which he had shown. Some years later, when the Marquis deserted the camp of the Comte de Chambord, the famous case was brought back to the surface ..... but I will say no more, lest I speak ill of the dead !"