| The binding shown above can be found in a recent (2015) Sotheby's auction (click here to see it). I noticed right away some tools that look like those of Padeloup, how could an auction expert miss this? At the bottom of the item information the Sotheby's expert says that this binding is probably Spanish! It takes only a quick check of some familiar Padeloup bindings to discover that this binding was made by Padeloup le jeune, one of the most celebrated bookbinders who ever lived. I want to show you the inner dentelle of a Padeloup binding that is found in the British Library Database of Bookbindings Davis532, actually first we will look at the cover, because you will recognize it as a Padeloup right away. |
| The Padeloup binding shown above is Davis532 from the British Library, I include their data for this binding, in which I see that Mirjam Foot has suggested that this could be a Duseuil, based no doubt on the nonsense of Michon. The only way Duseuil could have made this binding is if he borrowed all of Padeloup's tools, the same tools that Padeloup used for decades. Below I show a scan of the inner dentelle of Davis532, the BL scan is quite dark, I have lightened the image a bit to better show the detail. |
| In Comparative Diagram 1 we can see that the same Padeloup tools found on the Davis532 inner dentelle are also found on the Quintelien dentelle, namely the pj-38 pair and the pj-20 corner tool |
| In Comparative Diagram 3 we see the all important Padeloup signature fleuron dj-17, one that he used to decorate a majority of his bindings and especially as a centrepiece in his spine compartments, when you see this imprint you are assured that this is the work of Padeloup le jeune. (click here to see more about dj-17 imprints) |
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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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