| Several years ago I was lucky enough to buy a real Dubuisson dentelle à l'oiseau binding wherein the gold tooling was exceptionally clear and well preserved. This binding I have described on a previous page http://cyclopaedia.org/new-18c/dubuisson-early.html. I was able to make some very good high resolution scans of the imprints of this binding. On this page I want to show you one particular imprint that shows up on many Dubuisson bindings.This is Dubuisson imprint pd-7-4, it is shown at the top of this page. In this enlarged image we can see a few obvious characteristics of this imprint that will aid us in identifying it. In the diagram below I point out that the right side is significantly smaller than the left side and the difference is most noticeable at point 'a' while the circle below the main shape is off centre, this circle is part of the tool, this is one tool making two separate imprints. Someone trying to copy this tool might not include the circle, where ever you see it be sure that the two parts are visible.The circle is almost a guarantee that this is the original Dubuisson tool. Notice also the arrow at 'd' points to an off center join, and that the right side is noticably thinner than it's counterpart on the left. |
| Now we will look at some proven examples of this imprint. I recently found in a Sotheby's catalogue a good example (shown Below). In the Sotheby's description of these 10 Royal Almanachs they state that the 1747 issue and the 1749 issue have been decorated with Dubuisson's plaques, and that inside the 1747 Almanach is found Dubuisson's ticket as gilder, "Dore par Dubuisson R, S, Jacq, a Paris." |
| In the enlargements above I show the 1747 binding as well as a further enlargement of the pd-7-4 imprint rotated. This particular imprint has been added as a separate embellishment to the plaque and appears as a sort of signature or personal touch that has been added for a specific purpose. I have previously detailed another example of pd-7-4 on this page (http://cyclopaedia.org/paint/dubuisson-painted.html) and I am showing again here a Dubuisson binding from that page, that the reader will recognize as a Dubuisson based on the research of our previous page, specifically an arms under mica with a similar oval decoration surounding it. |
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We see here an elaborate Dubuisson painted binding, that was executed more than 10 years after the 1747 Almanach example and still Dubussion has added his familiar signature imprint. Now you might not think that this is so extraordinary, however on the next page I am going to reveal an exciting discovery that concerns this pd-7-4 imprint.
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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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