An Essay in the History of Gold-Tooled
Bindings by Herbert P. Horne
London 1894
1692, his house was in the Cour d'Albret About the year 1698, Boyet became much entangled in
the disputes, which were then disturbing the Guild: and he was one of those, who opposed the
indiscriminate grant, by the Wardens, of its privileges; while he, in turn, was taxed with having
obtained his own freedom by favour. The royal breve appointing him Binder to the king, in the
place of Claude Ie Mire, is dated 23rd November, 1698. He died in his
house, in the Rue du Mont Saint-Hilaire, on the 22nd February, 1733.
From evidences, which M.le Baron Jer6me Pichon has collected in his Vie de Charles H eny)',
Comted'Hoym, 2 vols., Paris, 1880, it appears, that Boyet worked not only for that nobleman;
but also for Du Fay, De Selle, the Abbe de Rothelin, Bellanger, and FIechier. His excellence as a
binder lay in his forwarding, which was remarkable for its finish and solidity. He did not sign his
bindings: and those which have been attributed to him, are very plainly finished. Indeed, it has
been doubted, whether he himself gilded the books, which he forwarded. He is generally
believed to have covered many books, with what are known as Jansenist bindings. These
bindings are without any gilding, or other ornament, on the exterior, with the exception of a
blind fillet; and are so called, from the severity of their style, in allusion to the sect of the
Jansenists, which had then not long been formed. Books bound in this way, have commonly a
'doublure,' which is often richly tooled; as in the case of certain bindings executed for Madame
de Chamillart, and commonly ascribed to Boyet These are generally covered in black morocco,
with a 'doublure' of red morocco, tooled in gold with a 'dentelle' border, and stamped with her
arms. Edouard Fournier, who is no very reliable authority, also, states, that Boyet worked for
Baron de Longepierre. Padeloup Ie jeune is, also, said to have worked for this collector: but
among his books a few ' reliures doublees ' are occasionally met with, which possess all the
characteristics attributed to Boyet, by whom they were probably bound; although they cannot
with any certainty be assigned to him. Hilaire Bernard de Requeleyne, Baron de Longepierre,
was born in 1659, and early manifested an extraordinary inclination towards learning. He
successively became tutor to the Comte de Toulouse, and the Duc de Chartres; and was
afterwards retained about the persons of the Duc d'OrIeans, and the Duc de Berry. He died in
1721. Although he attempted the composition of poetry, and wrote several tragedies, of which
his Medea attained to a certain fame, during his life-time, he is now chiefly remembered as a
collector of books, which he caused to be bound according to a scrupulous taste, and tooled in
gold with the device of the Golden Fleece, in allusion, it is said, to his play.