| On the previous page (23) I pointed out an unusual Delorme imprint found in the decoration of a 1773 Almanach Royal, this imprint is also found in Giles Barbers Tools catalogue (2013 publication), catalogued as DCT 28. shown above with it's reference to W.Cat 423. I then decided to do a quick search the catalogue for any other tools catalogued in relation to W.Cat 423. To my surprise I found at least 16 other tools listed, this is a lot for a single binding. In Comparative Diagram 1, we see a reduced size list of the 16 tool models, that we are going to examine more fully below. The dentelle shown at the top of the page is from the doublure of an important mosaic binding that we have looked at on page 8 (BnF, RLR, B-4873 (BIS)) I have already looked at the tools found on this dentelle, and was struck from the first time that I saw it that there was a mixure of Dubuisson tools and tools that I did not recognize. Here in DCT 28 we have identified another of these tools, that we now recognize as the tools of Delorme. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, we see that Barber has catalogued this pair of imprints and we know that this is exactly the same tool due to the different size of the stamens. This is a critically important tool to recognize and identify correctly due to the fact that a number of other binders had very similar tools. |
| In Comparative Diagram 3, I compare Dubuisson imprints with the Barber W.Cat 423 examples. FL 22. I have not encountered anywhere, while FL 92 might be a partial copy of pd-19. FL 103 is a critically important fleuron, and Barber states that it is found on the spine of W.Cat 423, this is exactly where you will find this imprint in the Dubuisson examples (click here to see a classic example). FL 26 and FL 27 are probably the same Dubuisson tool pd-8, and FL 154 I have not seen in any Dubuisson or Delorme bindings. |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, we look at Barber's W.Cat 423 FR examples compared with Dubuisson and Delorme tools. FR 20 is a mystery tool, I have never seen it in Dubuisson or Delorme bindings however I won't be surprised when I finally do. FR 26 is a define Dubuisson pair, and FR 53 we have looked at in Comparative Diagram 2. FR 70 is a classic Dubuisson tool often used and copied by others. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5, we look at Barber's W.Cat 423 DCT examples compared with Dubuisson and Delorme tools. DCT 3. appears to be Dubuisson's pd-9-2, although many binders had nearly identical copies of this tool. DCT 10 and 12 are shown in my Dubuisson catalogue however they are not often seen and perhaps have been included in the Dubuisson catalogue by being on a Delorme binding that I did not recognize, being small they are hard to distinguish from the many many other similar tools owned by different binders, to identify this tool really you need very high resolution scans. DCT 28 we have looked at, at the top of this page. I have included PAL 1 in this list, it is the only PAL tool but a highly important one. This is a distinctive Dubuisson palette that he used often, perhaps it is even a roulette, I have pointed it out here on page 6 where it is found on a 1763 Delorme binding and a 1761 Dubuisson also see a new Dubuisson page (click here to see it). On this page I show it on the spine of a 1759 signed Dubuisson Almanach Royal and a 1764 Almanach Royal that must have been made by Delorme. The fantastic thing about Almanach Royal bindings is that they give you a solid fix on the chronology of who was doing what and when. In as much as it appears that from around 1742 to 1761 the Almanach Royals were mainly decorated by Dubuisson and after 1761 often decorated by Delorme right up to 1792. Thus we are able to learn a lot more about these two binders than most others. Both binders appear to have produced a large amount of the bindings that are often attributed to others and represent what is commonly recognized as the mosaic and dentelle masterpieces of the second half of the 18th century. Derome le Jeune in comparisson produced very few of the bindings that are commonly attributed to him. His fame, if he should be allowed any, relies on a few noteable dentelle bindings. Probably we could list the bindings actually decorated by Derome as but a few dozen whereas the production of Dubuisson and Delorme may be in the hundreds. After the death of Dubuisson there was perhaps a period where Delorme worked as a freelance decorator and he may have executed mosaic bindings for Derome le jeune who later placed his ticket inside. The mosaics are long and tedious work that he was perhaps too busy or too lazy to do himself. In our reseach in these pages we are discovering the extent and richness of Delorme's mosaic bindings, there are dozens and dozens, all were attributed by Michon to the Deromes, however if the truth be known there is not a single mosaic binding that you can positively identify as having been made by Derome le jeune, conversely the trail of tools link them all back to Delorme or Dubuisson. I hope that you, dear reader, recognize the magnitude of this injustice perpetrated by Louis-Marie Michon. |
| In Comparative Diagram 6, we see the last of Barber's W.Cat 423 tools, this is a very important roulette in this scheme of things, we find this imprint in Dubuisson's work, often as an inner dentelle but also as a outer framing dentelle on Collombat plaques where it exists in two sizes (click here to see this). When I was making that page in May of 2007, I was not sure of the Dubuisson connection to these Collombat plaque bindings. Barber mentions Padeloup signatures, and there are a couple of possibilities... one, that the roll belonged to Padeloup and later to the Dubuisson's or it was owned by the Dubuisson's who were hired by Padeloup to do the decorations. I show the larger reversed sister roulette below in Comparative Diagram 7, catalogued by Barber as ROLL 81 and compared with an example from the British Library Database of Bookbindings shelfmarked C47g5 (click here to see it) |
| In Comparative Diagram 9, we see confirmative proof that inner dentelle of Teatro Jesuitico is Dubuisson's Collombat roulette (Barber's ROLL 74). Erick Eguirre states that this binding can be seen in the 1755 hand written Debure catalogue of the Gaignat library, thus it had to have been made before 1755. |
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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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