James Cox (inventor)

James Cox (ca. 1723–1800) was a British jeweller, goldsmith and entrepreneur and the proprietor of Cox's Museum. He is now best known for creating ingenious automata and mechanical clocks, including Cox's timepiece, powered by atmospheric pressure, the Peacock Clock and the Silver Swan.

Cox's career as a jeweler began as early as 1751, and his automatons were designed by artists like Joseph Nollekens and Johann Zoffany. In the 1760s John Joseph Merlin became his apprentice. Though he proclaimed himself a goldsmith, he employed a number of jewelers and manufacturers who may have done much of the work; that he was never a member of the goldsmith's guild further substantiates the claim that he subcontracted his work. Cox specialized in intricate clockwork curios encrusted with gold, silver, and jewels, referred to as "sing-songs." His primary market was the Far East, especially India and China, and the Chinese Qianlong Emperor possessed one of his automata, in the shape of a chariot. Cox's popularity was important to British trade: the tea trade ensured that British imports far outweighed their exports to China, and Cox helped redress the imbalance. His sing-songs initially reduced British trade deficit, but in the early 1770s Cox was stuck with a large inventory and a flooded eastern market. He liquidated some of his stock at Christie's in 1772, and used the remaining inventory to start his museum.

In the 1770s Cox managed a private museum in the Great Room at Spring Gardens, London. He had been exhibiting his wares since at least 1769, though the official museum opened only in February, 1772. The site is near the Admiralty Arch, and would be the among the most popular exhibition halls in London for the next half-century. Cox's Museum was so memorable that it was customary to refer to the room as "formerly Cox's Museum," and during the museum's run from 1772 to 1776 Cox's display eclipsed all other exhibits. His skill at advertising no doubt played a role in building the museum's popularity. Cox produced several catalogues and a collection of verses praising his museum, which had first been published in various London newspapers (some were probably planted by Cox).

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