Footnotes

James Foggo, born in Fife, Scotland in 1761, has a fascinating and turbulent history.

There are several references to a 'James Fogg' and 'James Fogo' apprenticed to a Richard Watts in London, in and around 1792. James' brother George was thought to have worked as a watch jeweller for Vulliamy and sons in the later part of the 18th century. All pointed towards a successful career in watch making for both brothers.

However, it was in 1799 that James and George Foggo's lives suddenly became extremely difficult. Following the suspension of the Habeus Corpus Act , the government were able to arrest and imprison anyone they believed treasonous, without trial. Due to James' own radical socialist beliefs, (he was a recorded active member of the socialist group, The London Corresponding Society who campaigned for social reform in the government) the threat of arrest for treason became extremely likely. James Foggo, and a year later his immediate family, along with numerous other members of the society, fled to France. To complicate matters further however, George was struggling to join his brother in France. He had also left London, but illegally, and only managed to reach as far as Antwerp before being detained and questioned by the local authorities. However, fortunately he not only carried with him watch jewelling tools to identify his trade, he also carried a letter from his brother stating who he was and his business in France. The most fascinating part however, is that the end of the letter is signed by the infamous and well respected watch maker Breguet, stating that George Foggo was a friend to the Republic of France and that he was an honest worker. Shortly afterwards, George was released with a passport to Paris where he continued to work with his brother and Breguet.

Perhaps due to this turbulent career, or due to his frequent travelling to America and having no surviving family, only 3 of Foggo's watches are known and documented. This is now what we believe to be the 4th recorded.

One was a similarly cased silver open face watch with Double-wheel Duplex sold at Christie's February 1960, numbered 419. This present lot is not numbered but features the same highly sophisticated double-wheel jewelled Duplex escapement and Helical balance spring.

For a concise history of James Foggo, his brother and sons, please see Stories of Success and Failure, the lives of James Foggo, watch jeweller and political radical, and his sons James and George Foggo, history painters and reformers by Mike Helps, 2005