| The reproduction shown above is from a 2009 Sotheby's auction catalogue (click here to see it). We have no idea when this binding was made however there are some good reasons to think that this is a binding from Boyet's workshop. In the item details the Sotheby's experts state reliure de la fin du XVIIe siècle and tell us that the the tooling is in silver and that it has now oxidized (and now looks black). This is a fascinating binding and probably the most important link to our research, in that it appears to have a codex roulette framing the dentelle, this then is the same as our 1693 Breviarium. Boyet seems to have used this roulette very rarely, I was very surprised to see it. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1, we see the 1698 roulette compared with this silver tooled roulette, the color of the black silver has been reversed to make it easier to see. A great thing happened when I first started comparing these roulette strips. On my first attempt I unknowingly had the silver roulette upside down in relation to the 1698 examples, and thus it did not match at all, I was thinking that this may not even be the same tool, then in a stroke of genius I rotated the strip and bingo I solved two problems at once. The first was that, even after a lot of searching I had still not found exactly where this roulette repeats. However with this light colored reversed strip I noticed right away a detail that I missed before, it was the fact that the crosses that are inbetween the links are sometimes smaller or much larger, looking for the smallest, I found the repeated small and solved the problem of the roulette length (8.86 cm) as well as definitely proving that this was the same roulette. |
| Now that we have proved a definite link between these bindings, I needed to show that this silver binding was indeed a Boyet, of course the most obvious sign of that is the palette at the base of the spine, This is the Isabelle de Conihout & Pascal Ract-Madoux Boyet palette IV shown in their diagram of Boyet tools. In Comparative diagram 2, I show firstly (A) a reversed black and white reproduction of the palette shown on their Boyet binding example 30, page 77, it was from this very binding that they made their rubbing for their TYPE model of palette IV shown at the bottom of Comparative Diagram 2 as (C). This is a very unusual palette that is either very short or of an unusual symmetry. Either way it would be hard to copy this palette. This is one of Boyet's favorite palettes, he uses it often and it is a very strong sign of a Boyet binding, even though often rather difficult to see clearly. |
| So much for what we know, now we have a lot of things we do not know, the dentelle which I show enlarged above, as well as reversed, has no parallel that I know of or can remember. However in the decoration of the Sotheby's 2014 auction item shown below we see what appears to be the same roulette used as a palette on these giant bindings, that the Sotheby's experts claim to be attributable to Boyet (Reliure de l'époque, attribuable à Boyet). (click here to see it) |
| We have to accept that this Sotheby's 1694 binding is a Boyet, I can see perhaps that the palette below this one may be a Boyet tool, otherwise we would have to go on a long journey to show that it is a Boyet, and our situation does not improve when I present the next bit of evidence. Below I have extracted one of the centerpiece fleurons from the spine compartments. This is what I would call a rare Boyet tool if it is a Boyet tool, certainly not found on any regular Boyet bindings that I know of, however I did find what looks to be the same fleuron on another binding. Coincidentally this binding also comes from the same 2014 Sotheby's auction as the 1694 binding shown above. |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, I have extracted the silver fleuron (A) and undistorted it (A2) , removing the photographic distortion of perspective. Then I have placed a semi-transparent 1740 fleuron (B) over the undistorted (A2). In the enlargement we can see that these fleurons match and probably derive from the same tool however shocking that possibility might appear. Now you are probably thinking as I was, that there is some sort of mistake here, how can these tools, Boyet's tools be found on a 1740 binding? Then another intuitive something caught my eye, something unexpected and surprising. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5 we discover something incredible, all these bindings are linked together, even though it looked doubtful, here we have proof that the 1694 binding is linked to the 1740 binding and all three are linked by the dentelle and codex roulette back to our 1698 binding. Unbelievable but a fact, someone was using these Boyet tools as late as 1740. Now it is going to be very hard to know who made what and when. |
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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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