Le Roy Et Fils À Paris: An Early Multi-piece Quarter Striking Carriage Clock

The eight-day duration movement has unusual screwed pillars with a central fin and strikes the hours and the quarters on a bell with two hammers, with a push repeat button to the top, sounding the last hour and quarter at will. The skeletonised platform lever escapement has a plain brass balance.

The silvered brass engine-turned dial has decorative engraving to the centre, black Roman numerals and blued steel club hands.

The gilded multi-piece case is engraved to the front Le Roy et Fils à Paris and has a solid rear door, with shutters that open to facilitate winding and setting the hands.

Basile-Charles Le Roy was born in Paris in 1765, the son of the clockmaker Bazile Le Roy (1731-1804) and became a maître in 1788 having founded la Maison de Le Roy at 60, Galerie de Pierre, Palais-Royal in circa 1785 following the opening of the Palais-Royal gardens to the public and its buildings to the trade by Philippe Egalité, the duc d'Orléans, allowing a number of other clockmakers to set up shop in the arcade galleries. Following the French Revolution, during which Le Roy worked for the Republic signing his clocks Elroy, Le Roy moved his business to Galerie Montpensier, 13-15 Palais-Royal, where they were to remain for nearly a hundred years.

Le Roy was appointed a clockmaker to the Emperor Napoleon and to the latter's mother Madame Mère, as well as being clockmaker to Princess Pauline and Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia and then in 1829 he was appointed Royal Clockmaker to the duc de Bourbon and duc de Chartres. He exhibited clocks at the Paris Exposition of l'an VI (1797/8) and then 1819, 1823 and 1827. Basile-Charles's son Charles-Louis, born 1794, joined his father as a partner in 1828 after which the business became known as Le Roy et Fils and he was appointed both Horloger du Roi and Horloger du Ministère de la Marine in 1835. Basile-Charles died in 1839 and Charles-Louis in 1865, after which the business continued at the same address.

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Leigh is acknowledged as the world's leading expert on French carriage clocks of the 19th century and has lectured both home and abroad on the subject for over ten years.

He has had many papers published on the subject and his research is used by many of the leading auction houses in their descriptions.

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