| The binding shown above is on the front cover of the Librairie SOURGET - CATALOGUE N° XVI - 1997 MANUSCRITS et LIVRES Précieux, and is detailed as lot No. 205 in their 1996 catalogue No. XIII. I have included their detailed description above where they proclaim that this binding is the most beautiful French mosaic to have ever been made in the period of Louis XV. The Sourget experts have attributed this binding to Derome le Jeune. I will admit there is not a lot to go on as far as deciding who made this binding. However within these mosaic pages we have learned how to spot the telltale imprints that will allow us to identify the artist who decorated this mosaic masterpiece, said to be the most magnificent of the 18th century. I will spoil the surprise now by telling you this binding was not made by Derome le jeune who had not even recieved his papers as a binder until 1761. |
| There is only a few small imprints on this binding that will reveal who made it, however I suspect that Pierre-Paul Dubuisson placed one of his favorites (pd-7-6) in the lower center as a kind of signature. This imprint shown in Comparative Diagram 1, derives from one of Dubuisson's earliest tools, we have traced it from at least 1747 (see this page). It is a very small imprint and is shown enlarged to 1000dpi in this diagram. Being so small we cannot mistake its identy when enlarged and compared to other examples, the slightest inconsistancy would immediately reveal a fake, however this is the real deal an unmistakable Dubuisson imprint. There are two even smaller imprints that you have to really search for to find, pd-81 shown in Comparative Diagram 2. these are compared with the same imprints found on the spine of a officially recognized Dubuisson binding in the Bibliotheque national de France. (click here to see it). |
| In Comparative Diagram 3, we see the same roulette palette that we have encountered already on many Dubuisson mosaics and in Comparative Diagram 4, some really small imprints pd-49a and 49b that are quite common on Dubuisson bindings. The Sourget experts note that Louis-Marie Michon never saw this binding, however as Michon attributed so many mosaics to Jacques-Antione Derome or his son Derome le jeune, it is not difficult to follow their logic of attributing this 1760 Almanach to the Deromes, however the buck stops here, the truth of the matter is that Dubuisson workshop turned out out the bulk of the mosaics, and certainly some of the most beautiful ones. |
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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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