THE ART OF BREGUET
Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Apr 14, 1991
LOT 97
A Monsieur D'Eichtal "Compteur" No. 323, sold on 16 August 1838, for the sum of 455 Francs. Railway Counter Clock.
CHF 15,000 - 20,000
Sold: CHF 11,500
Case: cylindrical lacquered brass drum, contained within a square mahogany case with aperture for the dial, brass fittings and wall mounting plates. Dial: Mat silvered, signed: "Breguet No. 323", with Roman numerals. Blued-steel Breguet hands. Movement: Brass, full-plate with turned pillars, cylinder escapement, three-arm plain brass balance with polished steel end plate. Blued-steel flat balance spring. A lever passing through the edge of the case allows the movement to be stopped at-will. In good condition. Dim. 130 x 130 x 75 mm.
Notes
History: According to the repair books,this
counter was overhauled on 15 May 1838,at the
request of Monsieur Rouen,from the management
of the Saint-Germain Railway.It was returned
again for cleaning on 16 July 1840 by Monsieur
Rouen,rue de Londres,Paris,and on 19 August
1853 and 16 February 1854,on both occasions
from the Compagnie de Saint-Germain.
Note: Adolphe Eichthal was the president of the Compagnie de Saint-Germain,the first railway line to be opened in France between Paris and Le Pecq,and dedicated to the carriage of passengers. The inauguration took place on 26 August 1837, and this clock was sold to Eichthal almost exactly a year later although it may in fact have been in use somewhat earlier,as the date of the first repair (when a shorter movement stop button was fitted at no charge) was 15 May 1838.Along with the pair (counter No.324,the following number, and sold to Eichthal on the same day),it must certainly be the first dedicated railway counter clock made in France.
ADOLPHE D'EICHTHAL (1805-1895)
Descended from a family of Munich bankers of which a branch had, like the Rothschilds, moved to Paris, Adolphe d'Eichthal was to be closely associated throughout his life with the building of the first railway lines in France.He was appointed in 1835 as the first President of the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de St. Germain en Laye (inaugurated in 1837) and the Paris - Lyon line (inaugurated in 1832). As a close and life-long friend of the Pereire family,notably Emile,he was to be elected President of their Compagnie Générale Maritime (established in 1855), which in 1861 became the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. He was also a member of the Board of the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Midi from 1852,becoming chairman from 1875 to 1893,and finally retaining the title of Honorary Chairman until his death in 1895,at the age of 90 and after more than 60 years service to the railways.
NOS FINANCIERS
Some days later,Delphine de Girardin,a poetess and lady of letters,as well as a chronicler writing under the pseudonym Vicomte Charles de Launay,took a trip on the train,and reported to the readers of La Presse (in translation): ....It is said that in America the trains do not run on a Sunday;Oh no! Our railway to Saint-Germain is truly a railway made expressly for a Sunday .... I hope you will try it soon! You will see for yourself,it is a marvel! You do not ride,you glide! Everything flies by,the bridge over the Seine,the cuttings six meters deep and embankments twenty meters high;a veritable road of stone sleepers Salute the Arc ................ de Triomphe,that noble monument to our victories and our great men,rising up as high and as proud as the mountains Later in the article she described their arrival at the station of Saint- ....................... Germain: Eventually you hear the sound of the brakes:it is the arrival at Saint-Germain;everybody ...... rushes to the windows;all the carriages,all the wagons come to a halt; the platform is empty,just two or three inspectors here and there, no-one else:but,open the doors of the carriages.... and,well,in the twinkling of an eye a veritable ants'-nest of travellers spill out and the platform is instantly covered with people.It is really "impossible to describe",but very amusing to watch...." ."Long live the railways! We have to say that it really is the most charming way to travel: you proceed at at a terrifying velocity, but at the same time remain unafraid of such speed;certainly a trip on a post or stage coach is far more frightening!" The Paris - Saint-Germain Railway The day after the inauguration of the line on the 26th of August 1837,several journalists published reports recounting their experiences (information kindly supplied by La Vie du Rail ). Jules Janin,narrator and raconteur,as well as the author of a novel,styled by his contemporaries as " strange",with the title"The Dead Ass and the Guillotined Lady",recalled his impressions(in translation): Engraving ....the village of Croissy nestled complacently on the banks of the river.At that point the view was admirablejeaving the bridge of Chatou on your right,a gentle curve leads you into the forest of Vesinét. It is to the King that thanks are due;he has refused nothing to the railway,allowing the very trees that stood in its way to be cut down,and freely giving all the necessary land.In France we are in need of many landowners such as he,then you would see the advance of the railways.................. "
Note: Adolphe Eichthal was the president of the Compagnie de Saint-Germain,the first railway line to be opened in France between Paris and Le Pecq,and dedicated to the carriage of passengers. The inauguration took place on 26 August 1837, and this clock was sold to Eichthal almost exactly a year later although it may in fact have been in use somewhat earlier,as the date of the first repair (when a shorter movement stop button was fitted at no charge) was 15 May 1838.Along with the pair (counter No.324,the following number, and sold to Eichthal on the same day),it must certainly be the first dedicated railway counter clock made in France.
ADOLPHE D'EICHTHAL (1805-1895)
Descended from a family of Munich bankers of which a branch had, like the Rothschilds, moved to Paris, Adolphe d'Eichthal was to be closely associated throughout his life with the building of the first railway lines in France.He was appointed in 1835 as the first President of the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de St. Germain en Laye (inaugurated in 1837) and the Paris - Lyon line (inaugurated in 1832). As a close and life-long friend of the Pereire family,notably Emile,he was to be elected President of their Compagnie Générale Maritime (established in 1855), which in 1861 became the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. He was also a member of the Board of the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Midi from 1852,becoming chairman from 1875 to 1893,and finally retaining the title of Honorary Chairman until his death in 1895,at the age of 90 and after more than 60 years service to the railways.
NOS FINANCIERS
Some days later,Delphine de Girardin,a poetess and lady of letters,as well as a chronicler writing under the pseudonym Vicomte Charles de Launay,took a trip on the train,and reported to the readers of La Presse (in translation): ....It is said that in America the trains do not run on a Sunday;Oh no! Our railway to Saint-Germain is truly a railway made expressly for a Sunday .... I hope you will try it soon! You will see for yourself,it is a marvel! You do not ride,you glide! Everything flies by,the bridge over the Seine,the cuttings six meters deep and embankments twenty meters high;a veritable road of stone sleepers Salute the Arc ................ de Triomphe,that noble monument to our victories and our great men,rising up as high and as proud as the mountains Later in the article she described their arrival at the station of Saint- ....................... Germain: Eventually you hear the sound of the brakes:it is the arrival at Saint-Germain;everybody ...... rushes to the windows;all the carriages,all the wagons come to a halt; the platform is empty,just two or three inspectors here and there, no-one else:but,open the doors of the carriages.... and,well,in the twinkling of an eye a veritable ants'-nest of travellers spill out and the platform is instantly covered with people.It is really "impossible to describe",but very amusing to watch...." ."Long live the railways! We have to say that it really is the most charming way to travel: you proceed at at a terrifying velocity, but at the same time remain unafraid of such speed;certainly a trip on a post or stage coach is far more frightening!" The Paris - Saint-Germain Railway The day after the inauguration of the line on the 26th of August 1837,several journalists published reports recounting their experiences (information kindly supplied by La Vie du Rail ). Jules Janin,narrator and raconteur,as well as the author of a novel,styled by his contemporaries as " strange",with the title"The Dead Ass and the Guillotined Lady",recalled his impressions(in translation): Engraving ....the village of Croissy nestled complacently on the banks of the river.At that point the view was admirablejeaving the bridge of Chatou on your right,a gentle curve leads you into the forest of Vesinét. It is to the King that thanks are due;he has refused nothing to the railway,allowing the very trees that stood in its way to be cut down,and freely giving all the necessary land.In France we are in need of many landowners such as he,then you would see the advance of the railways.................. "