| The reproduction of this binding can be found in a Christie's auction catalogue COLLECTION MICHEL WITTOCK 2EME PARTIE, RELIURES A DECOR Paris 8 November 2004, (click here to see it). Below I show an enlargement of the BERTRAND signature. |
| The Christie's experts maintain that this is a binding by Jacques Bertrand and give a reference to Thoinan, however as you can see below Thoinan did not have much to say about Jacques Bertrand in the Cours d'Albret, and Leon Gruel writing after Thoinan shows a ticket for a Bertrand in the Cour d'Albret neither author mentions a Bertrand who signs the front of bindings. I wonder if it was really Jacques who did this? |
| There are a few decorative tools in this binding by Bertrand that may help us to track him down, the first is his fer à l'oiseau, this looks very close to one of Jubert's. It seems to me that I have seen this bird with its sloping wings before. Barber does not have this example in his catalogue. I show 2 Bertrand examples in Comparative Diagram 2, and we could add another Derome example as well as a large Dubuisson similar to the large Jubert jj-4-4, to make this diagram more all encompasing. Bertrand's bird looks so familiar that I am sure I have see it somewhere. |
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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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