51,750 CHF
Letter from the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, 1769-1852), dated London, November 11th 1839 to Breguet. One framed page, postal mark and wax seal, concerning the Duke’s latest order, an à tact watch, signed "your obedient servant, Wellington". The Duke of Wellington was among the most faithful of Breguet’s clients. He, his agents, and his wife, acquired numerous pieces beginning in 1814, including numerous à tact watches, and a "Pendule Sympathique" in 1837. Notes Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) Abraham-Louis Breguet was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland, on 10 January 1747. His family were protestants, although it has never been clearly established whether they were in fact refugees from France following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, or long-standing citizens of Neuchatel where the Breguet name is recorded as far back as the 15th Century. Neverthless, it was France that was to become his adopted country and the base for his future success. Breguet was only eleven years of age when his father died, but his mother almost immediately became remarried to her husband's cousin, a certain Joseph Tattet, whose family were watchmakers with a sales office in Paris. Tattet took Breguet to Paris in 1762, and the young man became apprenticed to a watchmaker at Versailles, although the name of his master is unknown. After completing his apprenticeship he may well have worked for Ferdinand Berthoud or Jean-Antoine Lepine, but he certain
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2004-04-24
