DE GONET, Jean. ~ Jean de Gonet Reliures.
15 illustrations of bindings by Jean de Gonet in colour and black and white. Pp. 48. 8vo., bound by Jean de Gonet in a ‘Revorim’ binding with sides of moulded polyurethane resembling rubber with the words Artefacts Jean de Gonet on the moulding, on the edge is a piece of onlaid blue spotted painted calf tooled with a grid and the words ‘REVORIM PROTOTYPE’ in red, spine of the small blue spotted calf with visible sewn red bands, titled in red, Jean de Gonet bookbinder’s label numbered 00/200, original wrappers bound in. Extremely good.
Catalogue of the very first solo exhibition of bindings by Jean de Gonet at the Librairie Claude Guerin in Paris from 6th to 30th October 1982. With an introduction by Jean Toulet, of the Bibliothèque Nationale, and book descriptions by Antoine Coron bound by him in his newly developed binding material ‘revorim’ (RIM, Reaction Injection Moulding), which was capable of being moulded at very low pressure.
Jean de Gonet b.1950 is a Parisian designer bookbinder who likes to experiment with different materials in his bindings. Having starting binding as a schoolboy, he set up his own business in Paris in 1973. In 1977 he exhibited some bindings on modern books and was noticed by Parisian booksellers for his radical approach and fresh style. The curators of the Bibliothèque Nationale also spotted his work and he was asked to represent the younger generation in a 1978 great exhibition of contemporary bookbinding alongside Monique Matthieu and Georges Leroux. He became well known for his revolutionary binding techniques using visible sewing structures and unusual materials usually with the aim that repeated opening of the book would not destroy the joints, examples of which can be seen in this 1982 catalogue.
He developed the polyurethane binding material for his ‘revorim’ bindings in 1985 at the request of Dominique Bozo, director of Centre Beaubourg and he went on to win first prize for his invention in the Councours Object 2000 exhibition.