| My next task was to try to find some detail in the Dubuisson rodeo palette that will enable us to identify it. First I had to assemble some high resolution copies that can positively be identified as authentic, this was no easy task working with photos and scans. Surprising that I have not done it before, however doing it now I noticed a number of interesting details not only in the palette but also in the Dubuisson tooling that are usually framing them. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1, we see green arrows indicating some particular eccentricities that are delineated in the diagram below. The first observation is that the fleuron centered at (E) appears to have a smaller right arm, this lack of symmetry makes it easy to recognize, besides that, the top half has been shifted to the right so that it is not centered on its base, shown by the center line at (E) this results in an open space between the top and the base, shown by the arrow (B) looking at the examples above this space is a bit more obvious. While the fleuron at (D) is just the opposite, the top being slightly off center to the left and a space appearing between the top and the base at (A). The letter (C) indicating another off center feature. Now armed with these distinct features we are going to compare them with the eBay example. |
| The best laid plans of mice and men... after trying to find fleuron (B) in the eBay palette example at the top of the page, I was beginning to think that these palettes do not match the Dubuisson palettes, further to this the framing tools Dubuisson often used were simple dashed lines, actually perhaps a fillet that has been cut so as to make a series of dashes, yet we do not see these in this eBay example, whereas almost all of Dubuisson's bindings seem to have them. I was almost ready to give up but finally tried another thing. I wanted to check that the palettes were actually the same size. This can only be done by rescaling photos with scans. The results indicated that the palettes were the same size and so I thought there must be an explanation somewhere, finally In Comparative Diagram 2, I have managed figure out this puzzle. Fleuron (B) is missing from the eBay palette because Dubuisson must have used a different part of the palette which must therefore be longer. This is only my theory, examine closely Comparative Diagram 2 for yourself and see what you think. The gold colored strips are of course from an authentic Dubuisson binding while the 4 lighter colored strips are from the 1744 eBay binding tomb label, I have rotated the top strip so that all the palettes are viewed from the same direction, there are 4 in number because I have used 2 photos of the same label however one was taken with the light source at a different angle to try to show possible differences. The secret is to find the location of line (C). On the next page we will look at the inner dentelle, hopefully I will find a matching Dubuisson roulette somewhere. |
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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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