| The binding shown about could qualify as an early Derome le jeune binding, we see certainly some of his fathers tools being used here as well as a few other tools that we have not yet catalogued. What stands out as an early tool is the Jad-46a and 46b being used in an identical fashion to bindings that we have estimated to have been made in the early part of Derome le jeunes career, say around 1761 BUT!!! wait a minute this binding is covering a 1773 printing, I checked this, there is no way this can be an error, there is no earlier edition by this printer. This at first is an enigma, as I don't really think Derome would go back and start making dentelles as he did 12 or more years previously. By 1773 he was relatively famous and his bindings fetching a high price, from well heeled clients... well I imagine this from what I have read. Anyway on the past few pages we have chronicaled changes in the tools and designs over this same time period and for this binding shown above to have appeared in 1773 seems unlikely, However my research in the past has shown that Jean-Pierre Jubert must have worked for Derome, we see signed Derome le jeune bindings that have been decorated with Jubert's tools and only the spine decorated with Derome tools, also I have documented that the jad-46 tools passed into Juberts inventory, so right away I suspect that this binding 709 Arioste was possibly decorated by Jubert. This will be difficult to prove however there one tool that seems suspect. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1, we see Jean-Pierre's signature from a binding reproduced by Edouard Rahir (previously documented here) compared with an imprint from a Jubert binding found in the Bibliotheque nationale de France RES-V-3090 (previously documented here) compared with a 709 Arioste imprint. We do not know if this imprint jj-5 is actually a Derome tool that he borrowed, what we can say for sure is that he used it often. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, I present an number of Jubert bindings on one page, this diagram was made several years ago, many more Jubert Bindings could be added now, the main point to note is that most of the past experts including Thoinan, Rahir, Esmerian, and currently the Bibliotheque nationale de France still attribute the work of Jubert to Derome le jeune. Jubert may have worked for Derome but he made a lot of bindings on his own with his own tools which are easily decerned from those of Derome. The binding shown above was almost certainly made by Jubert who continued making the so called dentelle à l'oiseau long after Derome le jeune abandoned it. |
| Above I show a coffret that is on display in the Chateau de Versailles web site (click here to see it) it is found in their Collections and their photographs have a fantastic zoom that allows you to examine the objects at close to 1000dpi! You will see by their information that they do not recognize the tooling as that of Derome le jeune and their presumed date of manufacture is way off unless this coffret was decorated by J A Derome. |
| In Comparative Diagram 3 we see Derome le jeune imprints compared with Jubert imprints, the Jubert imprints are found on a Bibliotheque nationale de France binding that they have attributed to Derome le jeune. Here is how they explain this attribution: Reliure executee a Paris vers 1780 par l'atelier de Nicolas-Denis Derome, dit le Jeune. L'attribution et la datation sont respectivement proposees d'apres la presence dans le materiel de dorure de fers caracteristiques de la production de cet atelier et le style du decor. they say it looks like his tools and style... I am afraid that close, only counts in horseshoes. We can easily see that Derome's large floral imprint has not been perfectly copied by Jubert, and anyone can see that Jubert's bird tool is radically different, if you don't know J-P Jubert you don't know 18th century French decorative bookbinding. |
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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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