| On the previous page we have concentrated on the book on which this Douceur binding is found, now we are going to look at some very important dentelle imprints, some I have enlarged to 1200 dpi to ensure that we see every detail. Below I show a corner ornament that Douceur has employed on many of his bindings, catalogued as d-26-2. Douceur also used another circular ornament in the corners of his dentelles, it has been catalogued as d-26. |
| Now I want to show you another example of this same imprint d-26-2 that is found in the dentelle of the bindings shown above. We have documented these items previously on another page.You will note the armories of Louis XV. This binding may have been made in 1761 as it contains signed plates with the date of 1761. For me, there is no doubt that these bindings were made by Louis Douceur, and the fact that these books are by Henault, makes for an even more convincing case, however the Sotheby's experts failed to attribute the binding to anyone. When you selling an item that you expect it to fetch between 22 to 28 thousand euros, one might think that it would be wise to hire an expert who can tell you exactly what it is, that you are selling. Below in Comparative Diagram 1 - I show irrefutable proof that the imprints on this 1761 royal binding are the same as those on the 1754 binding at the top of this page. Note that there are two volumes in this set, the same set came up for auction previously in 1993 with one only volume shown in black and white, the Sotheby's color reproduction is showing the dentelle of volume II while the black and white shows the dentelle of Volume I, these are not exactly identical. |
| Below I show high resolution examples of imprints that I have catalogued as d-17a and d-17b, this highly stylized pair of imprints are an easy way to recognize a Doucer binding, there seems to be a flaw, in d-17a that I have pointed out with a green arrow, this flaw is easy to see and although other binders imitated this tool with similar copies, none demonstrate this flaw. |
| In the 2013 publication Catalogue of Printed Books and Bookbindings: The James A. de Rothschild Bequest at Waddesdon Manor, by Giles Barber, we find on page 377 under TOOLS LIST 5: DCT Barber's DCT 60. (shown above). Barber notes that this imprint is from a binding catalogued as W.Cat. 255. fortunately I have his other references to this binding which he attributes to Louis Douceur in his WADDESDON BINDINGS LIST G found on page 277. Shown just above Comparative Diagram 2. Here we see, in the W.Cat. 255 tool references that, DCT 60 is missing, probably it has accidentally been replaced with DCT 40. In Comparative Diagram 2, I have reproduced Barber's DCT 15 which compares well with my d-6, a Douceur imprint. Also in Comparative Diagram 3, I have reproduced Barber's FL 128, this is the same as my catalogued d-23, neither of these tools appear in this 1754 binding. However FL 112 definitely does, shown below in Comparative Diagram 4. |
| Among the tools that Barber has listed for W.Cat. 255 is an imprint listed as BV 2, this is found on the first page of his tools catalogue The bulbous vase tool on page 363, at first I did not remember this as a Douceur tool, however when I finally found it on a binding it was then that I realized the importance of these tools. This binding is found on another example of the same Henault publication that I have shown above, this also has the signed plates that are dated 1761. This is a binding that I was tempted to put into the post Douceur period, however we see in the spine compartments the same tool being employed in both sets also the inner dentelle is probably the same roulette, that Douceur employed on the BnF RES-V-724 Reliure en maroquin rouge a decor a la dentelle aux armes de Louis XV, roi de France, |
| In the brief biography given by the BnF for Louis Douceur, they state that he was active from 1721 to 1766, this is an amazing feat for anyone in those times or even today. He became a master bookbinder in 1721, this means he was born in the 17th century and was possibly doing this work in his 70's! This is a job that requires an amazing amount of hand to eye coordination and a very steady and sure hand, we would not be surprised to learn that one of his son's was actually decorating these bindings with his father's tools. These bindings could have been made in 1761 but quite possibly a year ot two later. The interest for us is the fact that these bindings contain a mixture of old and new tools. BV 2, I suspect is a tool that was not used by Douceur in the 40's. Below I show an enlargement of this binding, here there is a great mixture of tools, if we had a very good high resolution copy we could add many of these tools to our Douceur catalogue, for we find that the binder has used everything but the kitchen sink in this masterful tour de force. |
| Below are a few of the other imprints found in the 1754 dentelle but not perhaps in Barber's catalogues, nor in the 1761 dentelles. On the next page we will tackle the 1754 spine imprints... |
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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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