Henri Pène du Bois

“ There is a show of justice in the modern book collector’s expression of due praise to the binder of the magnificent folio or shining duodecimo, made to sleep upon an eider-down pillow, but it will not atone for centuries of ingratitude. ”

“ The rivalry, which should have been universal, existed between France and England only. France excelled in taste and finish, but at some sacrifice of flexibility; while in England the soft and coaxing manner in which, by the skill of Hering or Mackinlay, “leaf succeeds to leaf,” was marred by the tarnishing of the once blazing gilt edges. It was of interest to American bibliophiles, as an evidence of the fact that the decline of the art of bookbinding was due to the apathy of the book collectors. ”

“ The history of modern bookbinding is not therefore to be identified with the name of a bookbinder previously to the year 1641, when flourished Le Gascon, to whom Jerome Pinchon has attributed the bindings of the library of De Thou’s sons. Le Gascon is only a surname, and the real name of the artist is as unknown as his history, but his binding of “La Guirlande de Julie” is ever to remain a model. ”