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Lot Essay
Accompanied by Poitevin original fitted wooden leather presentation box with the initials JR on inlaid mother-of-pearl panel to the cover.
The watchmaker and retailer Bernard Poitevin had shops in Geneva and Paris, specializing in high quality watches, both with and without complications, and chronometers with Geneva Bulletin d'Observatoire.
According to the inscription on its back, the porcelain enamel miniature was made by Benque, the successor of B. Matuszewksi, located at 33, rue Boissy d'Anglas in Paris.
The Polish cameraman Boleslaw Matuszewski (1856-1943) worked as an operator for the celebrated Lumière brothers in Paris. In 1897, after having become one of Tsar Nicholas II court photographers, he used the Lumières' Cinématographe to record the official visit of French President Félix Faure to St. Petersburg. Matuszewski also wrote two of the earliest books on cinema, one of which is recognised as the first written work pointing out the historical value of film and the importance of Film Archives.
His method of fixing photographs on enamel, such as on the present watch, was described in a brochure edited in Paris in July 1901 entitled "Les Portraits sur Emaux Vitrifiés" (portraits on porcelain enamel).
The famous French photographer J. Benque, located in a mansion at 33, rue du Boissy d'Anglas in Paris, also specialized in the manufacturing of such enamels.
The watchmaker and retailer Bernard Poitevin had shops in Geneva and Paris, specializing in high quality watches, both with and without complications, and chronometers with Geneva Bulletin d'Observatoire.
According to the inscription on its back, the porcelain enamel miniature was made by Benque, the successor of B. Matuszewksi, located at 33, rue Boissy d'Anglas in Paris.
The Polish cameraman Boleslaw Matuszewski (1856-1943) worked as an operator for the celebrated Lumière brothers in Paris. In 1897, after having become one of Tsar Nicholas II court photographers, he used the Lumières' Cinématographe to record the official visit of French President Félix Faure to St. Petersburg. Matuszewski also wrote two of the earliest books on cinema, one of which is recognised as the first written work pointing out the historical value of film and the importance of Film Archives.
His method of fixing photographs on enamel, such as on the present watch, was described in a brochure edited in Paris in July 1901 entitled "Les Portraits sur Emaux Vitrifiés" (portraits on porcelain enamel).
The famous French photographer J. Benque, located in a mansion at 33, rue du Boissy d'Anglas in Paris, also specialized in the manufacturing of such enamels.