Portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck

Undated head and shoulders mezzoprint portrait of Christopher Pinchbeck by Isaac Whood. Pinchbeck (c.1670 - November 18, 1732) was a London clockmaker and maker of musical Automata. He was born in Clerkenwell but worked in Fleet Street. Probably his name was derived from Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire. In the 1700s he invented the alloy Pinchbeck a cheap substitute for gold. He made an exquisite musical clock, worth about 500, for Louis XIV, and a fine organ for the Great Mogul, valued at 300. His eldest son, also named Christopher (1710 - 1783) became King's Clockmaker by appointment to George III: among his timepieces is an important astronomical clock made for the King, now in Buckingham Palace. HPG/8/1/1 (ix) Date: late 18th century