Page:The Art of Bookbinding, Zaehnsdorf, 1890.djvu/151

Rh times on each side of the book, a fair idea may be formed of the magnitude of such a work. I am of opinion that Le Gascon brought bookbinding to its highest point of richness and finish. His drawings are always pure and correct; his squares, lozenges, triangles, and ovals are so brought together as to form a series of compartments interlacing the one within the other, with an incomparable boldness and perfect harmony; above all, one must remark with what richness the compartments are filled. There is no doubt the ground work of the style was Grolier, but he never filled his panels with such richness or with such taste as that displayed by Le Gascon. The difficulty of adapting such designs to the different sizes of books has no doubt deterred the various masters from imitating such works, so that we see less of Le Gascon's style than of any other ancient master.

From Le Gascon's period the tools became thicker and thicker, until we have the heavy tools of Derome, which are much in keeping for books of a serious character. They are original in shape, but their employment was only in borders, leaving the centre of the book free from ornament.