Our next stop was Paris, and I have to admit, we only had three days there, so we didn’t get to too many book stores. Many of the places we would have liked to have gone were so crowded with people that one could spend 2-3 hours in line just waiting for a ticket. As one British friend said, “Brits love to queue up.” I replied, “Americans don’t,” so we didn’t. It was virtually impossible to relax and enjoy seeing a place like Notre Dame because of the people who were packed in shoulder to shoulder. We did go to Musee Cluny, which was not crowded, and was fantastic. We felt privileged to see the famous, exquisite tapestries “La Dame a la Licorne” or the Lady and the Unicorn.
However, the two bookstores we did find were great. Shakespeare and Company is quite a well known store in bookselling circles. It is definitely not “just a bookstore” but a haven for booklovers and authors. They have events, festivals, and book signings. When we were there they were having a poetry reading on the second floor. The place is so packed with books that it is very difficult to maneuver around inside because it was also packed with people. But then we found most of Paris to be that way. Everywhere we went was so crowded we could barely breathe.
Shakespeare & Co. has quite a long history. It was originally called Le Mistral and established in 1951. The name was later changed to Shakespeare & Co. by the owner, George Whitman, a former professor of physics, author of science books, soldier, and world traveler. He was a close friend of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and has entertained Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Lawrence Durrell and Allen Ginsburg, and many other well-known writers, in his store and in his home. He is hospitable, interesting, and some say, eccentric. Others called him “a light in a dull and homogenized world.” He is presently retired and still living in Paris and nearly 100 years old. He must be doing something right.
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
