Paris 75005 Quai de Montebello Bouquinistes 20071014

The Bouquinistes of

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, are booksellers of used and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

books who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

: on the

right bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

from the

Pont Marie The Pont Marie is a bridge which crosses the Seine in Paris, France. The bridge links the Île Saint-Louis to the quai de l'Hôtel de Ville and is one of three bridges designed to allow traffic flow between the Île Saint-Louis and the Left a ...

to the

Quai du Louvre A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

, and on the

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

from the

Quai de la Tournelle A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

Quai Voltaire The Quai Voltaire is a street located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. 308 meters long, it lies between the Quai Malaquais and Quai Anatole-France. The Quai Voltaire begins at the Rue des Saints-Pères and ends at the Rue de Bac and the Pont R ...

. The Seine is thus described as 'the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves'.

History

The tradition of the second-hand booksellers began around the 16th century with little market peddlers. Under pressure from booksellers, a settlement of 1649 prohibited stalls and the display of books on the

Pont Neuf The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, ...

. The authorities at the time were rather anxious to limit parallel markets not subjected to official censorship. Travelling booksellers during the period were driven out and then reinstated under approval. The traditional emblem of the second-hand booksellers is "a lizard looking at a sword". The term "bouquiniste" appears in the dictionary of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

in 1762. In 1859, concessions were implemented by the city of Paris and the bouquinistes are permitted to be established at fixed points. Each one is entitled to 10 metres of railing for an annual fee of 26,35 F and a 25 F licence. The openings are from sunrise to sunset. Finally, in 1930 the dimensions of the "boxes" were fixed. Installed along more than three kilometres of the Seine and declared a

UNESCO World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

site, the 240 bouquinistes make use of 900 "green boxes" to house some 300,000 old books and a very great number of journals, stamps and trading cards. The second-hand booksellers of Paris have inspired booksellers in other cities such as

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and

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Excerpt from the "Rules of Bouquinistes"

Article 9 of the by-law of October 1993, signed by

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

: The boxes used by book stores will be of a type approved by the Administration with an external bodywork determined by the dimensions below, for a maximum length of 8.6 metres: * Length: 2 metres * Width: 0.75 metres * Height: **Seine side: 0.6 metres **Shore side: 0.35 metres * (These dimensions are for closed boxes, lids included). * During use, the upper edge of the opened box should not reach over 2.1 metres above the ground.

In popular culture

* ''The Bookseller'' (2012), a mystery novel by Mark Pryor (Seventh Street Books, Amherst, NY), features a bouquiniste character named Max Koche.

References

{{coord missing, France Bookstores of Paris Tourist attractions in Paris

History

Excerpt from the "Rules of Bouquinistes"

In popular culture

See also

References