| The reproduction of the binding shown above is found in a 2018 Hotel des Ventes Victor Hugo (Dijon) auction catalogue. This binding and binding W.Cat 636 are amazingly similar, It wasn't until I had the two bindings together in Comparative Diagram 1, that I realized that they are almost idetical, the only major difference is the treatment of the spines, this 279 example has the more common raised bands. However the decoration of the boards has been executed as though these two volumes were part of a set. Because Barber has detailed every tool used in the decoration we need only to refer to binding W.Cat 636 |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, I have extracted strips of the Fetil roulette rf-R5 and aligned them to find where they match up. We can see in the details that there is a correspondence of excentricities in this roulette which will allow you to identify it. This is the same roulette that has been used in the bindings shown above and many other examples can be seen, this would have been one of Fetil's favorite roulettes for a number of years. This is an unusual roulette and a sure sign of a Fetil binding. |
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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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