Paris is a marvelous city for vintage and antiquarian books. Objects of great beauty, quite apart from the wisdom or entertainment they contain, these treasures from the past are hard to resist. Perhaps part of the fascination is that they are so much more beautiful as objects than any of the millions of books being produced today. 

In this article we’d like to take you on a short virtual tour of some of the places where you can browse and buy vintage and antiquarian books in Paris. 

THE BOUQUINISTES

Impossible to miss, the bouquinistes that line both sides of the Seine for several kilometers are an integral part of classic Paris, with their regulation green, lockable metal boxes that open up into displays for their antiquarian, secondhand books as well as prints, posters, artwork and a variety of mostly vintage and collectible items. 

The practice of selling secondhand books in the streets or Paris can be traced to the 16th Century. The concessions that evolved into the contemporary bouquinistes were introduced in 1859. Each bookseller was allowed 10 meters of railing by the Seine for an annual fee of 26 Francs plus a 25 Franc license. Today, 240 bouquinistes  are installed in 900 green boxes selling some 300,000 vintage and antiquarian books as well as a multitude of other collectibles and artwork. In 1991 the bouquinistes were recognized as part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

MARCHÉ DU LIVRE ANCIEN ET D’OCCASION (ANTIQUARIAN AND SECONDHAND BOOKS MARKET)

Founded in 1987, Le Marché du Livre Ancien et d'Occasion (Antiquarian and Secondhand Books Market), along Parc G. Brassens in the 15th arrondissement, is open every Saturday and Sunday of the year from 9am to 6pm. The market consists of some fifty booksellers in a historic setting, a gathering place for professionals, bibliophiles, collectors, and all lovers of books. The stands, arranged for easy browsing under cover, display a huge variety of books and documents including manuscripts, first editions, collectible books and magazines, children’s books, old documents and photographs, as well as modern secondhand books. Bargain hunters and treasure seekers can easily lose themselves for a day in the market.

FLEA MARKETS – PUCE DE VANVES

There are several major flea markets in Paris and most of them include antiquarian booksellers in amongst the antiques, old coins, pocket watches, china, furniture, paintings, posters, postcards, photos, prints and all sorts of collectibles, knick-knacks and junk. These two photos (above and below) were taken at the Porte de Vanves flea market (Puces de Vanves).

A SAMPLING OF BOOK SHOPS

These are just a sprinkling of the many, many bookshops in Paris that sell antiquarian books, all worth visiting if you love the look, feel, smell and content of the treasures that are old books.

Several of these bookshops can be found in the passages and galeries – the historical covered arcades which are the subject of our earlier blog post, Galeries & Passages of Paris. The wonderful bookshop (above) is Librairie Jousseaume in Galerie Vivienne, founded in 1826, one of the oldest still operating today. Here you will find many rare, ancient tomes, including an extensive collection of historical books on Paris.

Le Pont Traversé (above) was an unusual bookshop on rue de la Vaugirard near the Luxembourg Gardens. It was founded in 1949 by the writer and poet, Marcel Béalu, and moved to its current location, a listed former butcher’s shop. The gilded cow’s heads on the exterior betray the shop’s former identity. Unfortunately this wonderful bookshop closed its doors late last year. It’s included here out of nostalgia.

The Librairie Bloody Mary on rue de Linné not far from Luxembourg gardens is a small shop crammed to the rafters with wonderful old books, even spilling out onto the sidewalk with stands full of rare finds for passing casual or dedicated bibliophiles to handle and pore through lovingly.

As already mentioned, these are just a few of the many, many shops in Paris offering antiquarian and collectible books.

BOOKBINDING

An offshoot of the antiquarian books trade, the bookbinding industry is still alive, well and thriving in Paris. A good example is G&G Bookbinding in Place Dauphine, named after the artisan/proprietor Gregory Gobillot (shown in the photos) – a real master of his art.

NEW IMAGES IN THE PARISIAN MOMENTS SHOP

Prints and canvases of antiquarian books make great wall decor and have proved very popular, particularly for dens, offices, libraries and studios. We have added a number of new images to the shop. Click on any of the images below to read more about the print, canvas or discounted collection.

We hope you have enjoyed this blog post. Like many people, we have a soft spot for antiquarian books, and have spent many happy hours in Paris reveling in (as well as photographing) the many beautiful collections available in the city’s bookstalls, markets and specialist shops. They are part of the legacy of arts and letters for which the City of Lights is so renowned. We wanted to share this particular love with you here.

Please leave us a comment below. We always like to hear from you. You can also email us with any questions or comments. We will respond promptly.

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À bientôt!

Georgianna and David