Paris, 27th July, 1830: It is a hot morning as barricades are being set up in the streets. In the capital city, unrest has long been rampant among the populace. While the city is embroiled in social unrest and famine, the unpopular King, Charles X, adds fuel to the fire with his so-called July Ordinances, excluding the middle-class from political life and drastically limiting freedom of the press. The Parisians take up arms. The citizens join forces with the simple labourers. After three days of rifle fire and the thunder of cannon, Charles X abdicates and flees to England to live in exile. The liberal bourgeoisie place Louis-Philippe of Orléans, a distant cousin of the King, on the throne. This is a bitter disappointment for the common people, who feel they have been duped out of their Republic. For the bourgeoisie, however, the Golden Age is just beginning. This silver pocket watch serves to remind the bourgeois buyer of his strengthened political position.
Pocket watch dial with French insignias and a reference to the July Revolution of 1830, maker unknown, presumably France, c. 1830, Inv. 2014-003