This is one of the most remarkable singing bird clocks. Most "long neck" singing bird clocks have a bird which perches at the top and when activated begins singing, and turning, but does not go back to rest in its nest. There is only one other known piece which rests inside and rises when activated, singing and retreating back to its nest when finished. It was in the G. Loup Collection and is illustrated in "La Montre Chinoise" by Alfred Chapuis, pp. 34 and 35. The one in the Loup Collection differs, however, in that the lifting is done by a system of complicated pulleys and fusee-like chains (it also seems to lack the case). The present clock has a very clever and simple system in which a lever pushed by a cam lifts the bird. The other very unusual feature of our clock is that the bird is activated automatically every hour. This is almost unheard-of; we have never seen another one with this feature. All this makes the clock one of the most outstanding singing bird boxes there are. William Ilbery, London (c. 1760-1839) Active in London from 1780 in Goswell Street, he moved to Duncan Terrace towards the end of the 18th century. Following James Cox in London and Jaquet-Droz in Switzerland, he also spe-cialized in the production of luxury watches for the Chinese Mar-ket. His early production was very much in the English style fea-turing a full plate movement and an English type single wheel duplex escapement. However, for his highest quality watches, he incorporated a Peto cross detent escapement. Later, he used the standard bridge caliber with free-standing barrel, also called the "Chinese" caliber. The cases of his watches were sumptuously decorated by the best Genevan enamelers, such as Jean-Francois-Victor Dupont, who usually signed his work, and Jean-Louis Richter, who rarely signed. He seems to have maintained close con-tacts with the continental trade, since a watch signed "Ilbery Paris" is known and Ilbery & Son are recorded in London and Fleurier, as well as in Canton. Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841) He learned his art under David-Etienne-Roux and Philippe-Samuel-Théodore Roux, becoming a very renowned enamel painter. His speciality was the painting of landscapes and par-ticularly lakeside scenes and marinescapes, often representing ships in a harbor or battles with fighting Men-of-War, but, on occasion, also portraits and hunting scenes. He did not often sign his work, but it is clearly recognized as being in his hand from the style and quality of the painting. He applied his art principally to watch cases and snuff boxes and these were largely destined for the Chinese, Turkish, British and Italian markets. In 1828 he was in partnership with Aimé-Julien Troll (1781-1852); one can find work signed Richter et Troll. Richter, like other great enamel painters of the time, often found inspiration for his work from paintings or engravings by the artists then in fashion, Van der Myn (1684-1741), Giovanni Battista Cipri-ani (1727-1785), John Francis Rigaud (1742-1820), John Hoffner (1748-1810) and Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), or even from particularly famous scenes such as the "Rape of Helen" from the engraving by Guido Reni (1575-1642), now in the Cabinet des Estampes, Paris. FR (Frères Rochat) These three brothers from Le Brassus in the Vallée de Joux were the sons of David Rochat (1746-1812), who had been received master in 1766 and who made a specialty of singing birds. They were: François Elisée Rochat, (1771-1836) Frédéric Rochat, (1774-1848) Samuel Henri Rochat, (1777-1854) David Rochat formed an association with these three sons around 1800. At the end of the 18th and in the early years of the 19th century David Rochat and sons had furnished bird ebauches to Jaquet Droz, and continued to do so when Jean-Frédéric Leschot took over the Jaquet Droz firm following Henry-Louis Jaquet Droz? death in 1792. In this they essentially followed the specifications given them by Jacob Frisard, the singing bird specialist of Jaquet Droz and Leschot. When Frisard, seeking to develop his own business, became less available after 1800, Leschot sought to replace him with the Rochats, but this collaboration was short-lived. After the death of their father in 1812, the three Rochat brothers moved to Geneva and went into business on their own account. They worked there, in the Terreaux de Chantepoulet, until about 1820, at which point Frederic and Samuel moved to the rue de Coutance 76, where they were later aided in their singing bird manufacture by Frederic?s sons Antoine-Frédéric Auguste (b. 1799) and Charles-Louis François (b. 1795) François, who continued in the Terreaux de Chantepoulet, was soon aided in his manufacture of singing bird pieces by his son Ami-Napoleon François (1807-1875, known as Ami).