| I found the above binding and description in a Drouot online auction catalogue (click here to see it). I arrived at that page while searching for Gaudreau Relieur de la Reine, you will notice that this is the same placement of the signature as illustrated by Gruel on the previous page. However the photo of this binding is not sharp enough to be of much help in identifying Gaudreau imprints. I then discovered a real treasure. |
| The bindings shown above can be found in a Sotheby's 2011 auction catalogue (click here to see it). The Sotheby's magnification on these bindings is excellent and allows us to see clealy Gaudreau's signature and assorted tool imprints that will proove very useful. The central flueron that Gaudreau has used in his spine panels is very reminiscent of a tools used by the Derome's and Pierre-Paul Dubuisson. |
| Then as we are on a lucky role, I found in a 2004 Christies auction catalogue the very bindings that were owned by Leon Gruel and served as his illustration models. |
| In this same Christies sale there happens to be yet another nearly identical set of signed bindings by Gaudreau |
| Below we see one more Sotheby's item from a 2012 auction, it has not be signed by Gaudreau but from the above bindings we can recognize his imprints, Sotheby's allow us to magnify these imprints and observe the details that will help us identify more and more Gaudreau examples. Here we see again the arms of Maria Theresa of Savoy, Simply by searching for bindings with her arms or those of her sister, Marie Joséphine of Savoy, or those of Marie Antoinette, we are bound to discover more of Gaudreau's work. |
| The set of 14 volumes shown above is found at the musée Médard web site (click here to see this page). They provide us with high resolution images of this set which is obviously another Gaudreau with imprints almost identical to the Zayde bindings |
| The musée Médard have provided us with some additional photographs of these bindings, the first that I show above is the inner dentelle or roulette on the inside of the front board, and the second is the front board decorated with the arms of Maria Theresa of Savoy, in as much as we can be certain that these bindings were executed by François Gaudreau this particular example of these arms will also be interest. I have to note here that the musée Médard have fallen into the trap of attributing these arms to Marie Joséphine of Savoy, "Reliure maroquin rouge aux armes de Marie Joséphine Louise de Savoie, femme de Louis XVIII, comtesse de Provence (Olivier pl. 2549),". This is a common mistake as her arms are nearly identical to those of her sister, this problem has been noted in the description of the Zayde volumes... |
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Ses livres, reliés en maroquin rouge, avec un simple triple filet, présentent une telle analogie avec ceux de la comtesse de Provence, qu'on les a presque toujours confondus dans les ventes publiques. La différence qui existe entre les armoiries est, en effet, peu sensible. Elle consiste simplement dans la bordure du premier écusson, qui est crénelée de gueules, tandis que sur les livres de la comtesse de Provence, cette bordure est dentelée" (Quentin Bauchart, II, p. 333 et s.). Her books, bound in red morocco, with a simple triple thread, are so nearly identicaal to those of the Comtesse de Provence, that they have almost always been confused in public sales. The difference between the coats of arms is, in fact, hardly noticible. It consists simply in the border of the first escutcheon, which is crenulated, while on the books of the Countess of Provence, this border is serrated "(Quentin Bauchart, II, pp. 333 et seq.). |
| I find that this is a case where a simple diagram ie worth a thousand words. On the next page we are going to look at yet another signed binding by François Gaudreau. |
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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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