New item acquired by MIH

Renowned for its rich collection, the MIH was able to acquire at the end of last year a watch nestling in a mid-19th century dance card and signed Frédéric-Alexandre (Fritz) Courvoisier, commander of the revolutionary troop that marched on the castle of Neuchâtel to overthrow the royalist government and establish the republic in 1848.

Very popular in the 19th century, dance cards enabled dancers to draw up a list of dances and requests made to various partners in the course of a given evening. These generally took the form of a simple small notebook made of paper or cardboard, but sometimes featured more original and luxurious shapes, such as a fan or, in this case, a gold case housing a watch.

The item acquired by the MIH consists of a paper dance card contained in a gold case engraved with floral motifs and fitted with a watch hidden in a compartment beneath a polychrome enamelled lid depicting a woman on horseback. The watch movement contains a cylinder escapement. Bearing the signature Fred. Courvoisier, Chaux-de-Fonds, No. 4567, and measuring 75 x 51 x 11 mm, it is accompanied by a pencil.

Aside from the rare and precious nature of such an object – thus far entirely absent from the MIH collections –, it is the place of production (La Chaux-de-Fonds) and the author (Fritz Courvoisier) that give this object a distinctive historical and heritage-related dimension for the Canton of Neuchâtel. Fritz Courvoisier is indeed well known as a major figure in the 1848 Revolution, and even as the instigator of the development of the railways in the canton, but less as a trainee watchmaker who undertook numerous travels around the world on behalf of the family watch company.

This acquisition of the MIH from a German auction house was made possible thanks to funding provided by the friends of the MIH and the Neuchâtel State Collection Repatriation Fund, which aims to encourage the acquisition of major objects to complete a collection of cantonal importance. The dance card is currently being studied by the MIH Restoration Centre and will be presented to the public on March 14th during the ceremony for new acquisitions.

January 24, 2019