| The reproduction of this folio sized dentelle binding shown above is found in the second volume of Raphaël Esmerian's famous catalogue Bibliothèque Raphaël Esmerian, Georges Blaizot and Claude Guérin, Paris. 1972-74. 6 volumes (click here to see it). Esmerian who was one of the most respected experts of his time, attributed this binding to Padeloup, of course we know now that this is incorrect. We see in this binding many of the Fétil tools that we have been cataloguing in the previous pages. I show below Barber's FR 54 model, this tool is perhaps one of the most unusual in the collection of 18th century decorative tools. It stands out in the crowd and I don't see anyone trying to copy it. The imprint of this tool is a sure sign of a Fétil binding, reminding one of a pair of cowboy spurs. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1, I have placed a transparent copy of the FR 54 imprint over the same imprint found on binding No. 118, this achieves two things it firstly confirms that the scale of the reproduction is correct to within 1 percent, and that the two imprints are identical. Here is irrefutable proof that binding 118 is another Fétil binding. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, I have extracted all the imprints found on binding No. 118 that we have not yet catalogued in the previous pages, although the Esmerian reproduction of this binding is at the limit of being useful in such an exercise, we will find better examples as we proceed. The large imprint DCR 10 is found in Barber's catalogue. |
| Unfortunately the study of 18th century French decorative bookbinding isn't always as simple as it looks, this tool that Barber has catalogued as DCR 10 is probably a Douceur tool. In fact, most if not all the tools that I have illustrated in Comparative Diagram 1, are actually Douceur tools. In Comparative Diagram 3, we see three examples of the DCR 10, these all look more or less identical, I have checked these imprints carefully, and even if the 118 Fétil example is only a copy of Douceurs tool the other tools would also have to be copies and I doubt that this is what we are seeing. Probably one of the most famous Douceur bindings is on display in the Bibliotheque nationale de France (click here to see BnF RES-V-724), In this binding Louis Douceur made extensive use of DCR 10. |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, we see Douceur imprints from BnF RES-V-724 compared the same imprints found on binding 118, Barber has catalogued these imprints as DCT-58, they can be seen in Comparative Diagram 3 used in a similar floral arrangement by Douceur in 1758. Below in Comparative Diagram 5 we see another pair of Douceur imprints that have been employed by Fétil in a very similar fashion. |
| The question now is how and when did Fétil start using Douceur's tools. On the previous page we examined a signed René-François Fétil binding that was executed in 1765 or later, here we find another Douceur tool DCT 29 (shown in Comparative Diagram 6) this same imprint is found on a signed Douceur binding from 1760 that is also on display in the BnF (click here to see it). In their biographical notes for Louis Douceur we read "Il se retire en 1766 au profit de son gendre Nicolas II Le Tellier" He retired in 1766 for the benefit of his son-in-law Nicolas II Le Tellier. Perhaps Fétil also started working for Douceur after his retirement in 1766. |
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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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