Georges Pélissier

“ Singing Bird boxes The invention of these marvellous pieces of mechanism dates from about the middle of the eighteenth century.
When they first appeared they were so highly praised that they were immediately bought by the principal Courts of Europe, and it is only later, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, that the very high class of people could acquire the rare specimen that came now and then on the market.—
The characteristic of the antique singing bird snuff boxes, is that the bird, when singing and moving its wings, opens its beak, when turning the head. ”

“ In 1774, Henry Louis Jaquet-Droz came to Paris and was received with the greatest favor by King Louis XVIth and especially by the young Queen Marie Antoinette, who had ascended to the Throne the same year, who was particularly and deeply interested in his Works after she had seen the “Designer” by pressing a button, making her own portrait and that of the King’s on a blank sheet of paper placed before the instrument.— (This can still be seen in Neuchâtel every month, and also at any time by payment of a fee.) ”

“ Singing Bird Box
Signed “Jaquet-Droz and Leschot London”
(from an old engraving)
Actually in the collection of Mr Luis Dubois-Favre
Le Loele, Switzerland.
The discovery of these small curious pieces of mechanism is due to a Swiss watchmaker whose name is
Pierre Jaquet-Droz This wonderful artist was born at La Chaux de Fonds (Switzerland) on the 28th of July 1721. His parents, rich peasants, seeing the great dispositions of their Child for Study, had projected to make a clergyman of him, and consequently sent him to study theology at Neuchâtel. ”