it was judged that the book had been bound by the French binder Boyet. Specimens of his handiwork are very rare, and hence the great price.
Deseuil (or Du Seuil). In the second portion of the Beckford library was a copy of the Leyden edition of Macrobius (1670), bound in red morocco doublé by Deseuil. This fetched £39, while another copy in vellum only realised 16s.
Here is another instance of the increased value of a copy of a book bound by a good binder. A copy of Montaigne, Essais, 3 vols. 8vo (Amst.: Elzevir, 1659), bound in red morocco double by Deseuil, brought £200, while another copy, bound by Roger Payne in red morocco, only sold for £12, 10s.
A small duodecimo volume bound by Deseuil (Longus, Les Amours Pastorales de Daphnis et Chloe, Paris, 1788) was sold at G. Daniel’s sale in 1864 for £92.
Monnier. Decor Puellarum (Venetia: N. Jenson,