A fine and rare French gilt brass singing bird automaton carriage clock Japy Freres for Henry Marc, Paris, circa 1860 The eight-day twin train bell striking movement with platform lever escapement and stamped with oval trademark JAPY FRERES ET CIE, EXPOSITION, 1855 GRANDE,MED., D'HONNEUR over another H'Y MARC, PARIS and serial numbers 43 and 31199 to lower margin, the under-dial motionwork with counterweighted detent for the hourly release of the going barrel-driven musical mechanism for sounding a two-note bird call and with twin linkages at the rear for operating the two movements of the bird automaton above, the rectangular white enamel Roman numeral dial with blued steel moon hands and inscribed H'RY MARC, PARIS to lower margin, the two tier gilt brass bevel-glazed case with foliate scroll-cast hinged carrying handle to the one-piece caddy moulded upper section enclosing automaton of a bird perched within foliate next to a nest with eggs which moves from side to side and bobs up and down whilst the musical mechanism in the base in running, with cavetto skirt set onto to top of the lower tier with platform incorporating projecting rounded corners applied with artichoke finials over free-standing slender baluster corner columns with leafy caps and waists, on shaped stepped plinth base with scroll cast band and projecting rounded angles to support the columns, the right hand side with musical mechanism winding square over lever for allowing the musical mechanism to be operated at will, on four disc turned feet, 28.5cm (11.25ins) high. Provenance: The beneficiary of the Estate of a private collector, East Midlands. The firm of Japy Freres et Cie was founded by Frederick Japy in 1774 who set-up a modest workshop in Montbeliard as a watch and machine tool maker. Japy expanded his business rapidly and by 1804, the year he was awarded the Legion d Honneur by Napoleon (in recognition for his Brevets in horological machinery), he employed 300 people at his manufactory in Beaucourt. From 1806, he took five of his sons into partnership and the firm expanded adding buildings at Badevel and La Feschotte amongst others to become one of the largest makers of clocks in Europe. The business continued into the Twentieth century but during the inter-war period went into decline and is thought to have finally wound-up in around 1840. A detailed history of Japy Freres et Cie is provided in Allix, Charles and Bonnert, Peter CARRIAGE CLOCKS, Their history and development chapter VI pages 133-48. Henry Marc is also noted by noted in Allix as probably a retailer of various mantel and other small clocks and refers to a relatively early carriage clock (number 26886) supplied to Marc by Japy Freres. The current lot is rare example from a small series of Oiseaux Chantant automaton clocks produced by Japy Freres during the 1860's-70's. Charles Allix (on page 222) comments that the musical automata were probably not made at Saint-Nicholas d'Aliermont as there is no record of the manufacture of such mechanisms taking place in the area, hence it is likely that these parts of the clock were supplied from workshops either in the Franche-Comte or Switzerland. A closely comparable example was offered at Christies, South Kensington sale of The Dr. Eugene and Rose Antelis Collection of Important French Carriage Clocks Thursday 26th November 1998 (lot 101) whilst another, albeit a rarer variant with centre seconds was sold at Antiquorum, Geneva sale of Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces 11th November 2012 (lot 294) for and astonishing $50,994.