| The reproduction of the image found above can be found on the Belle Reliures page at Les bibliothèques d'Agglopolys (click here to visit this page). We can see that this is probably a Louis Douceur binding although they do not mention that. |
| The thing that caught my eye on this binding was an imprint that I had not previously catalogued, and I wanted to compare it to what looked to be an identical imprint on a post Douceur 1780 binding. To do this effectively I had to reconstruct Les bibliothèques d'Agglopolys example, first by eliminating the destortion of the photograph and second to resize the binding to an exact 200dpi scale. I searched for 1760 edition of Virgile l'énéide, and found that Sotheby's had one in their auction catalogues (click here to see it) Virgile L'ENEIDE. PARIS, VEUVE QUILLAU, 1760. 2 volumes grand in-8 (224 x 140 mm). We can see that our reproduction is volume two so I thought this might be the right edition and size. Next I show our mystery binding from at least 1780. |
| The reproduction of this binding can also be found in a Sotheby's auction catalogue (click here to see it). Now we will look at the imprints. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, we see that this is another tool that belonged to Louis Douceur in 1760 being used in 1780 in what was in all probability the workshop of Louis Douceur after Douceur was no longer in this world. On another page I have detailed this 1780 binding, (click here to see this) we showed conclusive evidence of the use of Louis Douceur tools on this binding. However now that we have been looking at the work of René-François Fétil and Pierre Vente I have discovered things that may reveal who was working in this post Douceur workshop. Normally it should have been Nicolas Le Tellier, however I have found no evidence that would confirms this. The BnF states that "Il se retire en 1766 au profit de son gendre Nicolas II Le Tellier". Douceur retired leaving his post to his son in law Nicolas II Le Tellier. He may have left his post to Tellier, however his tools look to have gone to someone else. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, we show again what we have shown on another page (click here to see it) the imprints of René-François Fétil match Barber's FR 27 models, and in Compartive Diagram 3 we show with an overlay that these same imprints are found on this 1780 binding. We know that Fetil employed Douceur tools even from before Douceur's retirement, however it is not proven that these FR 27 tools were ever used by Douceur. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5, we discover that the imprints of Pierre Vente match Barber's FR 39 models, and more surprising is that in Comparative Diagram 6 we show the these same Vente imprints are found on this 1780 dentelle, could it be that both Fetil and Vente worked on this binding, with a collection of Douceur tools that includes one of his favorite centerpiece fleurons in the spine compartments d-21-4. |
| Something tells me that the 1780 palette shown in Comparative Diagram 8 may reveal yet more surprises coming from the post Douceur workshops. |
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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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