| On the previous page we learned that Paul Girardot de Prefond, was forced to sell his second collection of rare books to cover his debts, and that according to a number of sources, Justin comte MacCarthy Reagh bought them in 1769 (according to De Ricci this sale was closer to 1779 see De Ricci notes). We also learned that Prefond bought this particular Speculum in the 1769 Gaignat sale and had it rebound (by Derome le jeune) "lot 116; sold for 1600 francs to Girardot de Prefond... item rebound for him; on the front pastedown a small label of red leather inscribed in gold: 'Ex musaeo Pauli Girardot de Prefond'" (Click here to see this Bodleian reference) |
| This book has been digitized at a high resolution by the Oxford University, this means you that can view it it at over 1000 dpi. This is an amazing magnification that allows us to see details within the imprints rarely seen, for instance the flaw shown in the dj-12 imprint in the diagram below. A number of years ago I realized that there must be a flaw here but it was very hard to prove without high resolution images. Although the images are good we can see that Derome's application of the gold was a bit heavy handed, so that the fine details of the stamps are not as clear as they might have been. |
| In the image below we see that one side (dj-46a) of this pair of imprints is overburdened with gold while the other (dj-46b) is nearly normal or without enough gold, this lack of uniformity in the application of the imprints is probably a worse fault than a uniformly heavy handed work. Was he perhaps rushed when he was doing this work? Was he wondering if Prefond could even pay for it? Was he thinking, the guy pays a King's ransome for this rough Speculum and then grumbles about paying a few livres for my labours??? |
| It would be easy to jump to conclusions looking at Comparative Diagram 1, however you need to keep in mind that each one of these examples is found on a different sized binding. The large tools of the Speculum would be too big for the 1524 Heures. Certainly though there is a transition in the tools used with new ones added and old ones weeded out, it is these changes that may help us pinpoint the datation of these bindings. |
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click here to return to the HOME page. click here to see the INDEX of the 2017 pages. see below links to previous work |
| Even experts are sometimes wrong, before you spend thousands on a book, please do your own research! Just because I say a certain binding can be attributed to le Maitre isn't any kind of guarantee, don't take my word for it, go a step further and get your own proof. In these pages I have provided you with a way of doing just that. |
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