He is a figure of Chinese craftsmanship and commerce in general. Dominique Dagault opened his workshop at 20, rue du Commerce in Chinon on March 13, 2006. “I was looking for a town with a connection to the bookbinding and illuminating profession, and at the time, my little boy was doing fencing. Then it was a return to my roots, my parents are from Cravant and Panzoult,” she specifies.
As far back as she can remember, the craftswoman has “always loved books, history and painting”. The enthusiast completed a CAP in Paris, worked in publishing, spent years traveling and learning foreign languages to finally open her workshop Incipit Liber (where the book begins). “I have always lived in books. The book is what is most important. Thanks to Gutenberg, we deployed knowledge”, she explains.
The work of a bookbinder is a slow-moving profession. “There are a lot of operations. A time of drying, of putting into press, is an incompressible time, she assures. We can't come the day before for the next day. » After forty years of experience, she says she still has surprises: “It’s a perpetual questioning to find solutions. »
“A bookbinder is like a family doctor”
Thanks to her know-how and experience, she can bring a book back to life, even with shredded pages. Like a doctor, she treats. “We almost always find a solution,” shares Dominique Dagault.
She works on orders from individuals to produce art bindings, illuminations or calligraphy. These customers are bibliophiles (including lovers of beautiful books), most of them owners of second homes in Chinon. Beautiful old books, but also more modest and contemporary books with great sentimental value, such as grandmother's recipe book or the wedding album.
It can count on a loyal clientele: “A bookbinder is like a family doctor. Once you have it, you don't leave it. I know the tastes and expectations of customers, a relationship of trust is established over time. »
Restoration of a 1551 bible
Recently, Dominique Dagault restored a bible from 1551. “We touch on history, it’s a pleasure to work on such pieces. He will be able to leave for another 200 years”explains the one who is a teller of history.
She regularly passes on her know-how to interns. Like Benoît, whom we met when we came. Originally from Pas-de-Calais, he spent three days learning the basics of bookbinding to imitate his grandfather, a bibliophile and amateur bookbinder.
At 63, Dominique Dagault does not plan to retire, to the great relief of his clients. “I think I'll be up to 70 years old. I love what I do, I work at my own pace: I am now closed on Mondays, if I want to close, I close. Who wants to go far takes care of his horse”she smiled.
Here is our fourth and final part of our series dedicated to the artisans of Chinon.
