|
Title : Reliure de : M. Annaei Lucani pharsalia, sive de bello civili Caesaris et Pompeii lib. X. Ex emendatione V.C. Hug : Grotii. Author : Lucain (0039-0065). Auteur du texte Author : Pétrone (00..?-0066). Auteur du texte Publisher : Amstelodami, Apud Joannem Janssonium Anno 1626 Publication date : 1626 Contributor : Sulpitius Verulanus, Johannes (1430?-149.?). Auteur du commentaire Contributor : Grotius, Hugo (1583-1645). Éditeur scientifique Artwork notice : http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb121629402 Relationship : http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb30841768c Language : latin Format : 201, 13, [10 bl.] p. (sig. A-O8) : ill. (titre front.) gr. s.c. ; in-16 Format : Nombre total de vues : 5 Description : [La guerre civile (latin). 1626] Description : Comprend : ad Calpurnium Pisonem poemation ; Petronii Arbitri specimen belli civili Identifier : ark:/12148/btv1b7300226j Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Réserve des livres rares, RES 8-Z ADLER-343 Provenance : Bibliothèque nationale de France |
| "Reliure exécutée à Paris au début des années 1630, dans un atelier non identifié, pour un amateur non identifié. Le décor de cette reliure est très proche des décors exécutés à la même époque dans l'atelier de Macé Ruette, relieur du roi, pour l'amateur et érudit Henri-Louis Habert de Montmor (1600-1679), sur sa collection elzévirienne. Mention d'achat : « 3 £ » manuscrit en tête de la dernière garde volante". |
|
The binding shown above can be found in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and has been digitized in Gallica (click here to see it)
and the full notice is found here.
A google translation of the BnF description of this binding is as follows: "Binding made in Paris in the early 1630s, in an unidentified workshop, for an unidentified amateur. The decoration of this binding is very close to the decorations executed at the same time in the studio of Macé Ruette, the king's bookbinder, for the bibliophile and scholar Henri-Louis Habert de Montmor (1600-1679), on his Elzévirian collection" One is tempted to question the BnF's way of doing things here, they can only show us a single binding when it comes to the work of Mace Ruette and it happens to be an imitation? I wanted to test this amazing imitation that the BnF claims was made around the same time that Macé Ruette was doing this kind of binding. The first thing that I tested was the larger gerbes. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1 we compare the 1634 BERTII gerbe with an imitation gerbe. We see that the design arrangement is not exactly the same although the tools appear to be the same or very very similar. I wondered if my BERTII was really at the same scale and needed to confirm its size. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, I test a Satyrae mr-29 imprint against a BERTII imprint with an overlay (click on the diagram to see an enlargement). The overlay is good, these imprints are the same size to within a one percent margin of error. Therefore we can see in Comparative Diagram 1, certain differences in the comparative size of a number of imprints that should normally not exist. For instance the large pointillé rings are visably larger in the imitation example. |
| In Comparative Diagram 3, we can see tht not only are these rings of a different size but also they have been cut to contain a different number of pointillé beads. |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, we see that the inner dentelle and endpapers of the BnF imitation are not the same as those found in the Satyrae binding however the dotted line that underlines the inner dentelle roulette, appears to be very similar. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5, we enter into imprint archaeology, we are bringing to the surface these artifacts that are not quite complete and thus very hard to assess. They are certainly about the same size and being such unusual shapes it would be hard to imagine that these imprints were not the same and deriving from the same tool. Still there is not enough in these images to be sure, they are as yet, mysteriously tantalizing clues. |
| In Comparative Diagram 6, we are looking at greatly enlarged images of imprints that are barely 3 mm. in size. In this microscopic world a lot can be different without really being different, more or less gold in the imprint, an unsteady hand, an overlaying obstruction, all combine to provoke an uncertain analysis. |
| In Comparative Diagram 7, we see something exciting, it would seem that this imprint is the same in both examples and if it is then the theory that this binding is an imitation goes out the window. We still need to find absolute proof that some of these tools match and that they are in fact Macé Ruette tools. |
|
click here to see an Inventory Index of Macé and Antoine Ruette bindings 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 |