| The binding shown above is from Seymour De Ricci's 1935 book French Signed Bindings in Mortimer L Schiff Collection. I have included his text on this binding that he attributes to Derome le jeune. This is an amazing find, a real Derome binding and his ticket. De Ricci comments on the odd nature of this ticket and I suspect that this is an early binding by Derome. Last year, I was able to confirm an exciting discovery, a real binding by Derome le jeune's father, Jacques-Antoine Derome. I was beginning to think that they didn't even exist, however when I spotted the binding shown below some years ago I thought this just might be a J A Derome binding. Then last year I was able to partially confirm this (see this page). Now with this early Derome binding we see many details which confirm absolutely this fact. |
| The binding shown as Lot. 377 is from the Sotheby's catalogue CATALOGUE OF VALUABLE PRINTED BOOKS AND FINE BINDINGS FROM THE CELEBRATED COLLECTION, THE PROPERTY OF MAJOR J.R. ABBEY Published by Messrs Sotheby & Co., London: 1965. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1, we see that the centerpiece fleuron (dj-16) is probably the same imprint, this point I have already talked about on the previous page mentioned above. The Sotheby's reproduction is not of a quality that will allow enlargement, however I am confident that these two imprints derive from the same tool, one that was passed down from father to son. |
| In comparative Diagram 2, I show De Ricci's reproduction of Derome le jeune's etiquette. De Ricci states that this same ticket was found inside a book printed in 1761. On this ticket Derome states that he is the sole owner of his late fathers business. Now we can show that some of the decorative tools that J A derome used on the Lot. 377 binding, were passed on and used by Derome le jeune in a similar fashion on this De Ricci plate 38 binding. |
| You have to search for the imprints of these tools they are very small, almost as if Derome included them in memory of his fathers work |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, we see a rather special tool/imprint that is so distinctive there can be little doubt that these imprints derive from the same pair of tools dj-44a and 44b. Again Derome used these tools in a similar fashion as his father did with 4 imprints (two pairs) at the top of the binding and 4 in the lower part. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5, I show a J A Derome tool that Derome Le Jeune did not seem to use but used instead a very similar looking tool, a sort of smaller copy, we can see that Derome le jeune placed it in the center of the upper and lower parts of the decoration again this bears a similarity to his father's work. Probably there are more small tools like rings and flowers that are tools that Derome inherited and used here in this early binding that may actually date to 1761 the year that Derome received his papers as a binder. |
| The quality of De Ricci's plate 38 reproduction allows us to enlarge Derome's fer de l'oiseau in Comparative Diagram 5 where see details that were up until now barely visible. |
| To finish this page, I show in Comparative Diagram 6, a tool that probably lead Michon to believe that all the Dubuisson bindings with a very similar tool were made by J A Derome. However if Michon was aware of this Sotheby's Lot 377, he should have noticed that there is a difference in these imprints and all those other bindings that he attributed to J A Derome. In fact as far as I know there are almost none with gold tooling that can be attributed to Jacques Antoine Derome, this Sotheby's example is the only one I have encountered. We can rejoice however in finding one that will prove that Derome le jeune did inherit and use some of his father's tools. |
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| 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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