Options
L'entreprise Jaquet-Droz: entre merveilles de spectacle, mécaniques luxueuses et machines utiles, 1758-1811
Auteur(s)
Editeur(s)
Maison d'édition
Neuchâtel : Université de Neuchâtel
Date de parution
2018
Nombre de page
572 p.
Résumé
Les Jaquet-Droz et Leschot occupent une place de choix dans la mémoire collective neuchâteloise. L’histoire mythifiée des trois mécaniciens chaux-de-fonniers – Pierre Jaquet-Droz, son fils Henry-Louis et leur ami et collaborateur Jean-Frédéric Leschot – participe encore aujourd’hui à la définition du savoir-faire horloger comme une aptitude technique propre à l’Arc jurassien. Alors que tant a été écrit sur ces horlogers du XVIIIe siècle, éminents s’il en est, deux enjeux balisent le présent travail : renouveler le regard porté sur ce trio mécanicien et analyser les sphères d’activités qui caractérisent leurs parcours. De la figure du génie mécanique montagnard à l’image d’Épinal de l’horloger, acteurs isolés au sein d’un contexte idéalisé et non problématisé, les Jaquet-Droz et Leschot envahissent tous les champs de l’histoire en devenant les figures tutélaires de l’horlogerie neuchâteloise. Au sein de cette composition historiographique, les automates occupent une place prépondérante. Déjà au XVIIIe siècle, les enjeux dont ils sont les porte-paroles motivent des commentaires aux orientations diverses : elles ont trait au domaine technique et commercial, à la sphère philosophique et au champ épistémologique. Forte d’une réputation technique fondée sur les automates notamment, la maison Jaquet-Droz prospère et se développe en ouvrant des ateliers à Londres puis à Genève. Ceux-ci deviennent des acteurs importants de la production de mécaniques de luxes où sous-traitance et adaptabilité sont les mots-clés qui permettent de se faire un nom sur la place, quitte à l’effacer de ses propres pièces pour favoriser la vente de la marchandise. À l’image de la production, la vente se réalise sur l’échelle internationale pour toucher, notamment, un marché riche en symboles : la Chine. Pour survivre, notamment en situation de crise, la maison doit aussi adapter son écoulement et laisse ainsi entrevoir les stratégies nécessaires à mettre en œuvre pour s’implanter durablement dans le commerce international. Une polyphonie de définitions permet de mieux circonscrire le rôle et la place de l’horloger au XVIIIe siècle, à l’aune d’activités qui dépassent le seul intérêt économique. À travers la fabrication de prothèses anatomiques ou la participation aux activités de la Société des Arts de Genève, la mécanique devient un outil mis au service de la collectivité et vient ainsi contrecarrer les propos parfois réducteurs émis au sujet de l’inutilité des automates. À travers un corpus forcément à géométrie variable qui donne une image plus nuancée du parcours des trois hommes, cette étude souhaite replacer les Jaquet-Droz et Leschot dans le contexte qui est leur et évoquer les enjeux multiples qu’ils rendent visibles.
Abstract
Jaquet-Droz and Leschot hold a special place in the collective memory of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. The mythologised history of these three 18th century clockmakers and mechanics from La Chaux-de-Fonds – Pierre Jaquet-Droz, his son Henry-Louis and their collaborator and successor Jean-Frédéric Leschot – has contributed to the way in which a knowledge of watchmaking has traditionally been seen as a technical skill which is in some way native to the Jura region. Although much has already been written about aspects of the life and work of these eminent clockmakers, the present study looks at them in a new way, through a detailed analysis of their whole careers. Until now, their careers have often been used to justify traditional beliefs that have grown up around Neuchâtel’s watchmaking industry, including that of the inherent mechanical genius of the inhabitants of the Jura mountains, and the associated stereotype of self-sufficient watchmakers working in isolation. Within this traditional story, the famous androids and other automata produced by the Jaquet-Droz enterprise have occupied a dominant place, stimulating discussion from the 18th century to the present day over a wide range of subjects - technical, commercial, philosophical and epistemological. However, the full story of this famous enterprise extends well beyond the construction and exhibition of their androids. Having established a strong technical reputation through these automata, the Jaquet-Droz company prospered and developed to become leading producers of clocks and other luxury mechanical items, with an international reputation and sales extending as far as China. In pursuit of this wider market, they not only developed an extensive system of sub-contractors, but opened two workshops further afield; in London and in Geneva. Subsequently, the pressure to sustain their elevated position, especially during times of crisis, forced the company to adapt its products and find new markets, involving it in various commercial strategies. The close study of these three men has also provided a more rounded picture of the role and social status of watchmakers in general in the 18th century. It has been particularly illuminating to examine their activities outside those directly associated with their core business. Through the making of prosthetic limbs or participation in the activities of the Society of Arts of Geneva, they demonstrated that the study of mechanics could have real value for the community, thereby contradicting the reductive arguments made by some of their contemporaries about the lack of social utility of automata and similar luxury products. By using a wide-ranging corpus of documentation, the present study is able to provide a more nuanced picture of the Jaquet-Droz and Leschot enterprise than the traditional idealized version, setting it firmly within the context of its own times, and illuminating the aspects that it embodied during the half-century of its existence.
Abstract
Jaquet-Droz and Leschot hold a special place in the collective memory of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. The mythologised history of these three 18th century clockmakers and mechanics from La Chaux-de-Fonds – Pierre Jaquet-Droz, his son Henry-Louis and their collaborator and successor Jean-Frédéric Leschot – has contributed to the way in which a knowledge of watchmaking has traditionally been seen as a technical skill which is in some way native to the Jura region. Although much has already been written about aspects of the life and work of these eminent clockmakers, the present study looks at them in a new way, through a detailed analysis of their whole careers. Until now, their careers have often been used to justify traditional beliefs that have grown up around Neuchâtel’s watchmaking industry, including that of the inherent mechanical genius of the inhabitants of the Jura mountains, and the associated stereotype of self-sufficient watchmakers working in isolation. Within this traditional story, the famous androids and other automata produced by the Jaquet-Droz enterprise have occupied a dominant place, stimulating discussion from the 18th century to the present day over a wide range of subjects - technical, commercial, philosophical and epistemological. However, the full story of this famous enterprise extends well beyond the construction and exhibition of their androids. Having established a strong technical reputation through these automata, the Jaquet-Droz company prospered and developed to become leading producers of clocks and other luxury mechanical items, with an international reputation and sales extending as far as China. In pursuit of this wider market, they not only developed an extensive system of sub-contractors, but opened two workshops further afield; in London and in Geneva. Subsequently, the pressure to sustain their elevated position, especially during times of crisis, forced the company to adapt its products and find new markets, involving it in various commercial strategies. The close study of these three men has also provided a more rounded picture of the role and social status of watchmakers in general in the 18th century. It has been particularly illuminating to examine their activities outside those directly associated with their core business. Through the making of prosthetic limbs or participation in the activities of the Society of Arts of Geneva, they demonstrated that the study of mechanics could have real value for the community, thereby contradicting the reductive arguments made by some of their contemporaries about the lack of social utility of automata and similar luxury products. By using a wide-ranging corpus of documentation, the present study is able to provide a more nuanced picture of the Jaquet-Droz and Leschot enterprise than the traditional idealized version, setting it firmly within the context of its own times, and illuminating the aspects that it embodied during the half-century of its existence.
Notes
Doctorat, Université de Neuchâtel, Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines, Institut d'histoire
Identifiants
Type de publication
doctoral thesis
Dossier(s) à télécharger
