Swiss gold watch with Patek Philippe fitted box Circa 1867

Gold hunting cased lever pocket watch
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A very fine Swiss 18K gold keyless hunting cased pocket watch with Patek Philippe fitted box, circa 1867. Accompanied by the Extract from the Archives. Sold in March 1868 to Russian Education Minister D. Tolstoy. Polished, reeded borders, engine-turned band. Hinged gold cuvette.

White enamel dial, radial Roman numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds. Blued steel spade hands. Frosted gilt bar calibre movement, wolf’s tooth winding, moustache lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator. Case and cuvette signed movement numbered on the front plate.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Signed: Patek Philippe & Co.  Genève
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Dmitri Andreyevich Tolstoy (1823-1889) A Russian statesman and member of the State Council of Imperial Russia (1866), he was a distant relation of the writer Leo Tolstoy. As of 1853, he held a managing position at the Ministry of the Navy. Tolstoy was a procurator of the Holy Synod in 1865-1880, while simultaneously holding the post of Minister of Education (as of 1866). In 1871, Tolstoy was in charge of the college reform, which would result in an emphasis on a classical education (including Latin and Greek and Ancient literature). From 1882 to 1889, he was the Interior Minister and Chief of the Gendarmerie. A supporter of strong authority in the 1880s, Tolstoy sought to uphold the nobility, regulating the life of the peasants and extending his administration’s influence to local levels. The so-called “Temporary regulations”, greatly limiting the freedom of press, were issued in 1882 on Tolstoy’s instigation. Together with A. Pazukhin, Dmitri Andreyevich Tolstoy prepared the so-called “counter-reforms”, which were to become very unpopular in Russia. The author of books on Russian history, Tolstoy was elected President of the Russian Academy of Science in 1882.