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The binding shown above can be found in a November 2018 Christies auction catalogue (click here to see it). I do not often show the auction page like this however this is an important item and you can go to Christies page to read the information on this book. Coincidentally it is an Etat publication, like the first Delorme binding that caught my attention and not knowing who the binder was, I named all bindings with similar tools, Etat binder. Now this Etat is much earlier than that first one that was from 1774 and it had a very different set of tools. There are some important points to mention here, this is a special manuscript item and the arms on this binding indicating that it was made for Louis-Ferdinand de Bourbon, Dauphin de France (1729-1765) he was due to become King but he died before he got his chance to do it, he is known however as the father of three future Kings (Louis XVI, Louis XVIII et Charles X). Therefore this is a very prestigious client. This Etat, or report of the state of the Marine Royale in 1760, was I think probably bound and decorated sometime close to that year. This is important because at this time Pierre-Paul Dubuisson could have been in charge of the production of this binding being then the Relieur du Roi. We do certainly see some Dubuisson tools in the decoration of this binding however we see also some Delorme tools and some specific Delorme tools that prove that Dubuisson was not the decorator. Some have suggested that Delorme was not a full fledged binder in 1760 and that he would not be making important bindings such as this one destined for a client of the highest order. This binding stands as a stark contradiction to such theories. There are also some mysterious elements in the decoration of this binding that suggest that the idea that Delorme was a simple Dubuisson apprentice may not be correct or represent in any way the relationship between Delorme and Dubuisson. |
| I wanted to work with imprints of this important binding, that meant having to correct the perspective view, and when there is a lot of perspective, you are going to get a somewhat imperfect result, however we can still attempt to study these imprints. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, we compare the Dubuisson type 12-2 with the Etat example, I never encountered this different form until recently, it was found in a 1752 Dubuisson all-over binding so I now know that this is a second Dubuisson tool of this type, that we can catalogue as pd-12-2-2. |
| In Comparative Diagram 3, I show an imprint that I never catalogued as a Dubuisson tool, my first encounter with it was on a 1764 Breviarium decorated by Delorme. I think then, that this is probably a Delorme tool, and again not something he would use as an apprentice in 1760. |
| In Comparative Diagram 4, we see again Delorme using tools that imitate Dubuisson tools and design methods in the decoration of the spine panels with corner fleurons very similar in nature as well as the palette all aspiring to create a look similar to that of Dubuisson. Now if Delorme was an experienced doreur hired by Dubuisson we might see this kind of mix, perhaps Delorme had been making bindings in the past that imitated the Dubuisson bindings and Dubuisson decided hire him to take care of work that he was too busy to do. Certainly the Etat binding shows that in 1760, Delorme was already capable of doing high quality work for Royalty. |
| When I was looking for clear Dubuisson imprints, I went to the BnF Gallica site to look at a binding that is a pure Dubuisson marvel (click here to see it). The fact that this stunning, classic Pierre-Paul Dubuisson binding is still attributed, by the staff at the BnF to Padeloup is beyond my comprehension. Anyway while I was looking for good examples of pd-12-2, it suddenly dawned on me that one of the imprints found on the 1760 Etat binding was the same as that found on the BnF Dubuisson, and it is an imprint that I have somehow never catalogued. Shown in Comparative Diagram 5, this is proof positive (if we need any) that there are imprints from the tools of Dubuisson found on this Etat binding. |
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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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