A rare late 19th century French neo-Gothic oak table clock with calendarMathieu Planchon, Palais Royal, Paris, movement numbered 2883Surmounted by a crowing cockerel over a scroll frame housing the large bell and horizontal hammer, (with static Jack to one side), enclosed by cruciform brass strips 'rivetted' onto the carcass and twin side doors with bullseye glass and creature handles, the rear door with quatrefoil sound fret, raised on bifurcated scroll feet. The dial is divided with another 'rivetted' brass strip; above, the signed Roman chapter ring with sun centre and beetle and poker hands, the stylised Arabic calendar ring with arrow hand and clouded sun centre. The movement comprised of an upper clock movement with twin spring barrels, Brocot suspension, and an anchor escapement with outside count wheel, the back plate stamped 2883 Planchon Palais-Royal; the lower calendar movement with ratchet driven calendar wheel connected via a lever to the clock movement, and stamped with 775. The rear door carries a stamp depicting a clock and two pocketwatches within a shield, along with the number 3 595. The pendulum is stamped 2883·772. Ticking and striking, together with a a winding key. 27.5 x 26 x 60.5Footnotes:Mathieu Planchon was born in 1842 in Bourges, and served as apprentice to his father, one of the city's clockmakers, until 1862. By 1865/66, he had moved to Paris and was employed at Robert-Houdin's workshop: Robert-Houdin was a horologist and one of the most famous illusionists of all time; it seems likely that Planchon would have worked with Houdin's son, Emile Robert-Houdin who took over running the workshop after his father's retirement in 1855. After about two years he moved to work with a G. Phillippe in the Palais Royal, before taking over the business around 1870. Planchon had a strong interest in the antiquarian side of horology, and by 1896 was being described in the Horological Journal as 'the un-disputed authority in the horology of all countries, and, above all, on that belonging to the Middle Ages'. The 'Figaro' newspaper ran a competition in 1874, soliciting ideas for a watch it could give to its subscribers. Planchon entered and won with an apparently novel case design ....UNFORTUANTLEY THE DESIGN REMAINS UNKNOWN....; 22,000 of the watches were produced and Planchon became a well-known horological figure. He spent the next 15 years assembling a large collection of ancient timepieces, as well as making replicas of antique and middle ages clocks, but with modern, 19th century movements. He did not seem to regard these clocks as copies, but updates to otherwise fine clocks. By 1889, he had assembled enough to be able to exhibit at the Great Exhibition in Paris; he had a large variety of reproduction antique clocks, 75 in all, including clepsydrae and 15th century mantel clocks. He won a gold medal for this exhibition. In 1895, he relocated from the declining Palais Royal to the crossroads of Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin and the Rue Meyerbeer. He continued with his antiquarian pursuits, making, amongst other pieces, a clock in the shape of a fan, which would open to reveal the hours, before snapping shut at 6 'o' clock, which was based on a similar clock in a 16th century engraving he owned. He also extensively studied, and described, both traditional Japanese and Chinese clocks and time-keeping systems; he was the first European to publish a serious horological analysis of these timepieces. In the 1900 Paris Exhibition, Planchon not only won a Grand Prix, he was also allowed to write the official description for the horology section. This same year, in light of his accomplishments at the 1900 Exhibition, and his comprehensive book on the history of horology, L'horloge son histoire rétrospective, pittoresque et artistique published two years previously, he was made a member of the British Horological Institute. He would continue to practice horology and publish various related monographs, until his death in 1921, a few months after his latest work, La Pendule de Paris. Son évolution décorative was published. Paul Brateau, Planchon's son-in-law, employee for the past 21 years, and similarly enthusiastic antiquarian horologist, assumed control of La Maison Planchon, which he relocated to the Rue Meyerbeer proper in 1930, before his retirement, and the final closure of the shop in 1936. A very similar clock, with moon phase instead of a calendar dial and numbered 5885, was sold by Bonhams London in September 2009.Robertson, J. D. (1922) 'Mathieu Planchon', The Horological Journal, Vol. 64 (8), pp. 147-148. (Accessed: 18 May 2022)Bijou (1896) 'French Notes. From Our Special Correspondent.', The Horological Journal, Vol. 38 (9), p. 122. (Accessed: 18 May 2022)W.E.N. (1889) 'Further Notes of a Leisurely Saunter through the Horological Section of the Paris Exhibition',The Horological Journal, Vol. 32 (1), p. 6. (Accessed: 18 May 2022)Collanges, F. (2013) 'Third Lecture', Antiquarian Horology, Vol. 34 (2), pp. 259-261. (Accessed: 19 May 2022)This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
