Cox's career as a jeweler began as early as 1751, and his automatons were designed by artists like Joseph Nollekens and Johann Zoffany.

[3] 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.

[3] The museum was popular among London's upper classes and literati: James Boswell visited in 1772, at the recommendation of Samuel Johnson, and Frances Burney stages a debate about the uses of art at Cox's, in her novel Evelina.

[5] The museum was removed from Spring Gardens in 1775, and after being briefly displayed at Mansion House by the Lord Mayor,[3] was dissolved and sold by lottery in May 1775.

[4] At the time of the May 1775 lottery, a pair of diamond earrings garnered much attention, with Cox offering to buy them back from the winner for £5000.

[4] A musical clock designed by Cox, and previously owned by King Farouk of Egypt, sold on 12 December 2012 at a Bonhams London sale for £385,250 ($577,547).