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Christopher Pinchbeck
From MagicPedia
on Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.
Christopher Pinchbeck (c.1670 - November 18, 1732) was a London clockmaker and maker of musical Automata. He was born in England. Pinchbeck made musical automata that played tunes and imitated birds. He also sold self-playing organs, to save the expense of organists in country churches.
He was a partner with Isaac Fawkes.
He was known to have presented the "Apple Tree" illusion which was a precursor of the Orange Tree illusion.
In the 1700's, he invented the alloy now called "Pinchbeck" as a cheap substitute for gold. "Pinchbeck" has become almost a general term for any jewelery made out of substitutes for gold.
Christopher Pinchbeck, Jr., followed his father as a master craftsman.
Another descendant of Christopher Pinchbeck was William Frederick Pinchbeck. William wrote the book "The Expositor" in 1805. One of the highlights of the book is the explanation of the secret of the learned pig.
