| In the collection of Almanach Royals held by the Real Biblioteca in Spain, we do not find a mosaic binding for the year 1755, instead there is a Dubuisson plaque binding with the arms of Fernando VI. We do not know why Pierre-Paul Dubuisson was unable to make a mosaic as he did for the previous 6 years, all we can be sure of is that no other binder attempted to replace the mosaics of Dubuisson. Above we see the 1756 Almanach Royal where Dubuisson has encorporated some of his older tools. |
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ALMANACH ROYAL, Paris: Le Breton, 1756 8vo (190 x 124mm.), Roman and italic type, calendar interleaved, contemporary French white morocco, onlaid borders of red and olive morocco gilt, and of gold and red foil decorated in silver, the arms of Cathérine Dorothée, duchesse de Tenczin Ossolinska, painted in gouache in centre of sides, foil borders and painted arms under mica, spine gilt in compartments with red and olive morocco pieces, each with a small roundel of red, gilt or silver foil under mica, gilt edges, pink silk liners, later slipcase and chemise PROVENANCE Princess Katarzyna-Dorothea Jablonowska, duchesse de Tenczin Ossolinska, married in 1732 Franciszek-Maximilian Ossolinski, who was created duc by Louis XV in 1736, her arms on sides; Baron Jérôme Pichon, autograph bibliographical note on flyleaf signed "B.J.P. mars 1880" (not traced to sale catalogue); Rigaud, book-label; Rahir, catalogue, 1910: Livres dans de riches reliures, 171g; Cortlandt F. Bishop, booklabel CATALOGUE NOTE A very fine mosaic binding, attributed to derome. The condition of this binding, including the foil onlays, is outstanding. In his lengthy note inside the book, Baron Pichon attributes the binding to Pierre-Paul Dubuisson, while Michon later attributes it with certainty to Derôme (Les Reliures mosaïquées du XVIIIe siècle, 1956, no. 257). Pichon also states that Duchess Ossolinska died within a few days of her husband, François Maximilian, Count Ossolinski, who died on the 1st of July 1756. |
| Above in Comparative Diagram 1, I show Rahir's reproduction of No. 171g from his 1910, catalogue, a 1756 Almanach Royal that he attributed to Pierre-Paul Dubuisson compared with the Real Biblioteca 1756 example. Below that is a color reproduction of this same 171g binding, nowhere near as good as Rahir's black and white, this is from a Sotheby's auction webpage and I have included the lot description, where they boldly tell us that, even though there is a long inscription inside this book attributing it to Dubuisson, Michon attributed it anyway to Derome, and apparently the Sotheby's experts accepted Michon's expertise. This was a 2006 auction and the book sold for 8.364 Euros.(click here to see this page). Here then is yet another case of Michon denying clear evidence of this being a binding by Dubuisson, evidence that would refute his theory and there was plenty as we will see on the next page. Below I show a detail extracted from Rahir's reproduction of No. 171g. |
| Thanks to the highly advanced printing techniques of 1910 we are able to zoom into Rahir's reproduction and view the detail microscopiclly. Here we see a fantastic collage of materials and techniques, experimentation beyond anything ever attempted or dreamed of in the past, a mixture of abstraction and symmetry that takes the art decorative of bookbinding to a whole new level. |
| In Comparative Diagram 2, I show the imprints from 171g enlarged, yet the detail is perfectly clear, if you look at the imprint pd-29-3 that is considerably less than 3 millimeters in diameter, you will notice a rather irregular distribution petals, if you then scroll back through the enlarged border above Comparative Diagram - 2 you will see two of these imprints, both share this irregularity, if we had available to us such detailed high resolution images of other bindings, there would be no doubt as to which binder has done what, the proof is clearly visable. |
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click here to return to the Dubuisson mosaic INDEX. click here to see more Pierre-Paul Dubuisson pages. click here to see the INDEX of the 2017 pages. click here to return to the HOME page. 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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