| I tried every trick in the book to find another example of this decorative endpaper, after a long and unsucessful search, I satified myself with the knowledge that I learned a few things from it. I noticed for instance, certain differences in these brocade papers, it may be that this particular one, is an example of what has been called bronze varnish paper or Bronzefirnispapier. It differs from the brokatpapier in that the motifs are in gold where as with Brokatpapier the background is in gold, also I think it is an earlier process which might explain how Boyet was using it at the end of the 17th century. |
| After attempting to find out if any motif in this paper repeated itself, I decided to make the Comparative Diagram 1, using photos that are all aproximately the same size. Here we find that one piece of paper covered the front (both sides) and one on the back (both sides) and while the front and back papers are the same, the papers themselves do not have a repeating motif. This strikes me as a lot of work to make this paper, and it will be very interesting to find out the history of it, who made it and when? |
| Yes it is no easy task trying to see what matches and what doesn't in Comparative Diagram 1, however I have placed small yellow and green dots to help your eyes orient themselves a bit. I can imgine the thrill of the owner of this book when he finally received it from the Royal binder, Luc-Antoine Boyet. Not just the magnificent the binding but this sumptious decor inside, something that no one is likely to have ever seen before, a richness devine well suited a work of this nature. |
|
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. |
| Virtual Bookings, created by L. A. Miller | return to the Home page of VIRTUAL BOOKBINDINGS |