Museo Galileo
italiano
Virtual Museum
Jean-Baptiste Baillon de Fontenay
1751 -c. 1770

Owned a large private factory in Saint-German-en-Laye. Clockmaker to Queen Marie Leszinska, wife of the Louis XV (1710-1774), King of France. In 1727, Baillon, for a fairly large sum, acquired for himself and his descendants the prestigious titles of "First Valet de Chambre" and "Ordinary Clockmaker" to Princess Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793), heiress to the throne. After twenty-five years, the holder of the title was entitled to the nobiliary distinction of adding a second name. Baillon chose "de Fontenay."

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