| The binding shown above is found in a 1999 LIBRAIRIE SOURGET - MANUSCRITS ET LIVRES PRECIEUX - CATALOGUE N¡ XX. After working on the bindings of J A Derome on the previous page (click here to see it) I decided to do this page because of the close comparisons in tools and imprint arrangements between these bindings. First we must bear in mind that we do not know exactly when these bindings were made. This Dubuisson binding could have been made some years after 1750, however do not think so, while the J A Derome Sacred Heart binding could have been made later than 1743 as the style suggests, I suspect that all these bindings might be more or less contemporaneous. Why did these two binders used tools that look so much alike is the mystery we are addressing here. First we must show that this binding is in fact a Dubuisson binding. |
| When I first became obsessed with decorative bookbings some 12 years ago, I concentrated on the work of Dubuisson who seemed quite left out of the mainstream research, over the years I managed to buy some authentic Dubuisson bindings and scanned the imprints at 1200dpi. This is somewhat overkill but anyway very useful. In Comparative Diagram 1, you see an imprint from the spine of this 1750 binding compared with a 1200 dpi scan of the same Dubuisson imprint. Of course an enlargement of a modern day catalogue, is not going to be very sharp, however with the 1200dpi example beside it you can easily see that these two imprints derive from the same Dubuisson tool. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2 we find yet more proof that this 1750 binding has been decorated with Dubuisson tools, however just when I was certain that this was a Dubuisson binding I came across an imprint that I have not seen before, this was a shock because the imprint is a smaller version of an otherwise identical Dubuisson imprint, shown below in Comparative Diagram 3. This new imprint will then become pd-5-2. |
| Then I wanted to compare an imprint that is found on the 1750 binding with a rare Dubuisson imprint for which I did not have a type model example, but remembered where I could find one, I show it Comparative Diagram 4, it comes from the binding shown below. |
| This second Dubuisson binding can be found in the Collections at the Chateau de Versailles Containing over 60,000 works, the collections of the Palace of Versailles span a very broad period. The collections reflect the dual identity of the Palace, as both a palace occupied by the kings of France and the royal court, and later a museum "dedicated to the glories of France," inaugurated by Louis-Philippe in 1837.(click here to visit). The really amazing thing about the Collection items is that they can be enlarged with a zoom that is nearly 2000 dpi. In Comparative Diagram 5, I have increased ny 1200dpi model to 2000dpi and pasted it onto a screenshot of the Versailles zoom image. The pd-5 imprint in their zoom is only fractionaly smaller than my imprint enlarged to 2000dpi. But this is not the only amazing thing, yesterday we looked at a Derome binding on which we found the armories of the Sacred hearts, here we find Instructions pratiques et prieres pour la devotion au Sacre Cœur, l'Office, Vespres ... A Paris, chez Valleyre, 1748. Practical instructions and prayers for the devotion to the divine Sacred Heart! Nothing happens by accident. |
| One of the things you will notice with these early Dubuisson bindings is his use of rings that are more or less the same size as J A derome'r rings. Derome used these rings a lot and placed strategically in the detelles as well as the spine compartments. Dubuisson appears to be using these rings in a similar way and they do not last long in the history of his bindings. However we need to address the issue of dentelles, before the arrival of complex dentelles formed out of combinations of individual tools, the dentelle, known as a dentelle reguliere compose par la repetition, here the same few tools are used over and over and the effect is rather mechanical, one could imagine that the same effect could be created with a large roulette. The 1748 Dubuisson binding is an interesting variation of that idea, what we see is the beginning of a more complex dentelle built up by adding more and more tools. However the rings in the 1748 binding appear to be more of a repeated pattern whereas Deromes rings are a departure from that idea, being placed wherever there was a convenient space for one. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5, I show what appear to be the first attempts to go beyond simply repeating dentelle elements, to build complex formations into peaks and bouquets. Study this diagram closely you will see that both binders were using tools that were the same size and virtually the same shape and building structures in a similar fashion. Who was the first to have these tools, who had the idea to make complex dentelles. Derome was on the ground before Dubuisson and one would think that he could of had this idea, however Douceur was probably working in this area even earlier. If Pierre-Paul Dubuisson was the creator of the now famous Dubuisson plaques, then a lot of credit for the developement of large and elaborate dentelles must be attributed to him. |
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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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