| In Comparative Diagram, I have assembled the collection of imprints from Jubert's tools used to decorate the signed binding shown on the previous page, most of these I had already inventoried (click here to see this) however some of the older examples have been corrected with these high resolution imprints. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, we see Jubert imprint jj-50, this imprint was used in the corners, indicating the importance that Jubert gave it, the examples from the signed binding were not better than my old model that still could be improved. Below I show a binding by Jubert where he has used again this imprint perhaps sometime around 1778, this reproduction is from Rahir auction catalogue La bibliothèque de feu Édouard Rahir, ancien libraire Paris : Francisque Lefrançois, libraire-expert, 1930-1938. première partie 1930. We can see that Jubert has used several of the same tools that are in Comparative Diagram 1, in the decoration of this binding. |
| In Comparative Diagram 3, we see some rather familiar looking imprints, one would not give them a second glance were it not for their amazing usefulness, this pair of stemmed pods with their spiraled tendril are not exactly symmetrical, 34a has a large space inside her pod where as 34b has a rather smaller space, this difference allows for an easy identification of these imprints. |
| The binding shown above can be found online in the Gallica digital reproductions of the Bibliotheque national de France. The experts of the BnF have attributed this binding to the workshop of Derome le jeune. This attribution and the dating of the work around 1780, they claim is based on the tools which appear to them as characteristic of Deromes workshop as well as the decorative style of Derome. |
| "Reliure exécutée à Paris vers 1780 par l'atelier de Nicolas-Denis Derome, dit le Jeune. L'attribution et la datation sont respectivement proposées d'après la présence dans le matériel de dorure de fers caractéristiques de la production de cet atelier et le style du décor." |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, we see irrefutable proof that the imprints on the BnF binding XYLO-10 are not those of Derome le jeune. If the experts in the Bibliotheque national were worth their salt they would have recognized that is binding was decorated by Jean-Pierre Jubert, and that there is not a single Derome imprint to be found in the decoration of the cover of this binding. This you may consider a small mistake on the part of the BnF however the matter does not end there because this binding happens to be found on a book so rare that its price would today be astronomical, only perhaps comparable with the 1769 Speculum of Derome (click here to see it.) How is it that Jubert was entrusted to the decoration of such a treasure? How is it that the Bibliotheque Nationale appears to be oblivious to all this? In their Provenance notes we read Acquis par la Bibliothèque en 1784 à la vente La Vallière (cat. I, n° 122) if they estimate that this binding was made in 1780, this means it would have had to have been made for the duc de La Vallière. Below I show the two relevent pages from the catalogue of la vente La Vallière (cat. I, n° 122). |
| In this text we are told that according to the worlds greatest expert at that time, Baron Heineken, there are only 7 examples of this edition worldwide and of those 7 only 3 are complete, and of those 3 only two are in good condition, one of which is the one we are looking at here. This is indeed a rare book in fact it is doubly rare because it is one of the first known attempts at printing. In the book collector frensy of the 18th century where only Kings could afford a book such as this one, price was not an issue, a kings ransom as they say would be paid for items such as this if you ever were lucky enough to find one, and so what do we make of this? The rarest of the rare has been skillfully adorned with a dentelle a l'oiseau by Jubert... think about this for a minute... this would have been a very high point for any binder to achieve or even attempt, the need of a steady hand would be an understatement, a complete mastery of ones skills and a cool disposition that is not rattled or disturbed by anything or anyone. Yes this was a fantastic achievement by Jubert who was still a relatively young man with only 8 or 9 years in the profession and already surpassing the "Phoenix" Derome le jeune... however such is the corruption of history that today the name of Jean-Pierre Jubert is completely unknown in the Bibliotheque nationale de France... try to find it there... |
| The BnF is not listening, I have tried to tell them, to no avail, there are an important number of decorative bindings by Jubert in their online collection. |
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click here to return to the HOME page. click here to see an INDEX of the 2017 pages. see below links to previous work |
| 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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