Photographer Alain Lecornu celebrates the “bouquinistes des quais de Seine”, in Paris, France, and their recent “victory” over modernity with a beautiful project—and guess what, it’s a book!
Books, especially old ones, have lost a lot of ground since the discovery of the New Digital World—to be honest, the future of the civilization of the written word doesn’t look so bright these days. So when the city of Paris, France, suggested to remove the “bouquinistes” historical boxes from the quays of the Seine River for the opening ceremony of the Olympic games last summer in Paris (see our article: www.rarebookhub.com/articles/3441), many booklovers perceived it as an additional threat to their world. Led by Jérôme Callais, head of ACBP (Association Culturelle des Bouquinistes de Paris), the “bouquinistes” put up a fight, and eventually forced the city of Paris to back down—a victory, no doubt (see our article: www.rarebookhub.com/articles/3564). And was there a better way to celebrate, both their victory and their way of life, than putting out... a book?
The book isn’t available yet—as a matter of fact, it hasn’t been fully funded yet as its author Alain Cornu has only recently opened the project on the kisskissbankbank website. Anyone can contribute. It will mainly be a photo book of 248 pages taken by Cornu between 2021 and 2024, the vast majority them (168) being portraits, others being sceneries with the boxes and books. Cornu describes it as “both a photographic and historical survey, and a living testimony of a corporation.” The historian Angélique Jolivet took care of the historical contents, reminding us that the “bouquinistes” are on the quays since the mid-16th century, and that they’ve played a key role in spreading ideas all through the centuries.
Lecornu plans to print 1,000 copies, and to do so, he needs to collect €15,000 before the end of December. “If we collect more money,” he says, “we’ll print more copies.” The idea behind this book is explained on the website: “The bouquinistes have been the subject of various writings over the years, but they’ve never been exhaustively photographed with the idea of linking the past with the present. As their economical situation is challenged by the growing importance of digital media and screens, and following their recent fight for survival with the Olympic Games, it was natural for Lecornu to support them with this patrimonial work.”
This is more than a coffee table book, then—the pictures look great and the whole project is quite relevant. Ironically, this physical book will hardly see the light without the help of the Internet, but if this is a war then every battle won is a step forward (or at least, a step backward avoided).
Various packages are offered, depending on your donation. The regular book will cost you 41 euros in advance, but you may get an original photograph with it for €180, or a collector pack for €380, or even the full pack for €1200. As we say in France: c’est pour la bonne cause !
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
