| I found the ivory binding at the top of this page in an Alde auction catalogue many years ago, and you can now find it on the internet (click here to see it) I wanted to show you this elegant Delorme binding, however the Alde information does not give the exact size of the binding, so I searched the internet to try to find an exact size for this publication. What a good idea, not only did I find the size but I also found two more Delorme dentelle examples of this same publication. The last one of the three shown above, comes from the Emilie Sourget site (click here to see it) I show her information on this set as it is the most complete including actual size. The middle example comes from La Gazette Drouot (click here to see it) they have a nice zoom but the base photo is not that sharp. Now it is great to get such a full glimpse of what Delorme was doing in 1785, to this we can add the Tenschert 113, an 1785 Almanach Royal example. |
| If you compare the Almanach Royal in Comparative Diagram 1, with the Almanach Royal in Comparative Diagram 2, you can see the obvious tool connections in these Delorme bindings, now we are going to launch into a bizarre adventure that connects these bindings to the Balat binding shown in Comparative Diagram 3. |
| In Comparative Diagram 3, I show a 1777 Almanach Royal that I have detailed previously on another page (click here to see it). However there was one detail that I failed to document on that page, it is shown in Comparative Diagram 4. |
| In Comparative Diagram 5, we see the imprints of one of René-François Fétil's favorite tools (click here to see his bindings and tools). What is this Fetil signature tool doing in Delorme's decoration? It is also found in in certain of Douceur's bindings (click here to see this). This surprised me and I went to great lengths to find out if this was really Fetil's tool, however the overlay in Comparative Diagram 5 affirms that this is indeed Fetil's rf-3. Was Fetil working for Delorme? Were they partners... when Fetil looks like he was also doing this same partnership with Plumet and Douceur? Why am I harping on this now? if you look carefully at the bindings at the top of the page, as well as the Tenschert 113, you will see the rf-3 imprint again, in 1785! |
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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. |
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