| The reproduction of this binding can be found in the online auction pages of Sotheby's LIVRES ET MANUSCRITS 25 JUNE 2015 | 2:30 PM CEST, PARIS. (click here to see it). The reproduction of this binding is far better than the previous examples, here at last we can see details. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1 we can now see actual differences in these two imprints that are often hard to see and due to the cross in the middle dot easy to confuse. The difference here is very important we are looking at bindings that look very much like the work of Gosselin a number of imprints are virtually indistinquishable one from another and the style of the work very similar, who is copying who is a difficult question. This is the early part of Gosselin's career and he went on to be one of the greatest artists of the last quarter of the 18th century, competing with Derome, Jubert, Delorme and the list goes on it was the grand epoch of flamboyant dentelles. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2 I show the imprints of a virtually identical tool that both binders used extensively, this is how I fell into the trap of thinking that all these bindings were made by Gosselin. This is a small tool, you can see by the scale in Comparative Diagram 4 that it is barely a centimeter wide, even with magnification you are not sure if it is the real item, and often the imprints are without detail due to too much gold such as the gos example in this diagram. Below in Comparative Diagram 3 we see the larger model. Many binders of this period seem to have had two of these tools, Derome never used one, and they arrived in fashion I think post Dubuisson, for he never used one either, these are tools of the 70's and if you see one in a binding and someone is telling you that it is a Derome binding, I would be willing to bet it isn't a Derome, but probably decorated by Jubert. |
| The imprints in Comparative Diagram 3 are easier to distinguish the top of Gosselin's model looks as though it is thin and wisby as though made of feathers. As well as having thicker shoulders. Below I show some of the imprints that have not been found in the previous bindings. |
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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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