Chevalet-Beaudoin (2010)

 

The Chevalet-Beaudoin collection of gilding tools was acquired around 1925 by the Government of Quebec, which

purchased it from a French master bookbinder, Mr. Lucien Chevalet (1861-1926). This acquisition was made

through Mr. Louis-Philippe Beaudoin (1900-1967), founding director of the Institut des arts graphiques,

which is now Ahuntsic College. Since 1970, the college has been the custodian of the collection. It comprises more

3,000 gilding tools and rollers, making it one of the most important collections of gilding tools in Canada, and

probably in North America. In addition to straight and curved lines, the collection includes finials, palettes, and

rollers of various styles corresponding to different periods and artistic movements. Such a collection

constitutes a major legacy in the history of Quebec bookbinding.

The Chevalet-Beaudoin collection was first inventoried in 1927, listing some

3,225 tools. Later, in 1985, Mr. Guy Lusignan, a bookbinding professor, produced a catalogue of the tools in the

collection, comprising 2,612 tools. Finally, a revised version of the catalogue was produced in 2010 by Jean Arcand

and François Gingras. This version included approximately 500 tools not listed in the previous version,

for a total of 3,123 different tools.

This catalogue provides an update on the state of the collection. The update work included a

verification of the physical presence of each of the tools listed in the 2010 catalogue. The update was

carried out by the Quebec Association of Bookbinders and Book Artisans (AQRAL), and more specifically by the

following individuals:

• Jean-Pierre Trépanier, Project Manager

• Jean Cinq-Mars

• Clément Poirier

• Patrice Lefebvre

This verification confirmed the actual presence of more than 3,000 tools. However, approximately one hundred

tools presented in the 2010 catalogue have disappeared from the collection.

In addition to the tools already listed in the 2010 catalogue, this update includes wheels and

composters, which are part of the original collection acquired by the Government of Quebec. Overall, the

items in the collection are distributed as follows:

• Florals and arrangement elements 2338

• Straight and curved fillets 416

• Decorated pallets 104

• Threaded pallets 26

• Composters 25

• Casters 50

• Letters on stems 211

TOTAL: 3170

Since the catalogue does not present the imprints collated, but each tool photographed and described, throughout 651 pages, i ve chosen to post the link to the catalogue here:

 

The Chevalet-Beaudoin Catalogue

The imprints of the tools are not high definition unfortunately, but they are enough to be used as a comparison in identifying similar tools. Most tools are 18th or 19th century, bespoke more likely, not made to order, and the proper way to cite tools from this catalogue would be Author/ Year/Tool number, for example the tool below will quote it as Chevalet.2010.457