A new antiquarian bookshop in town is always good news! Let’s visit Babel, the new oasis in the arid heart of the ancient city of Périgueux, France.
Périgueux, in the South of France, is a historical city that was built by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago. The historical centre is a labyrinth of tiny paved streets, beautiful squares and hundreds of magnificent buildings from the 16th century. One would expect to find antiquarian booksellers in such a city, but Périgueux has been suffering from bookshops desertification. There was the old bent Lamongie bookshop in front of the cathedral—its walls of stone and its wonderful wooden blue facade were famous in the whole region—Alain Lamongie’s grand-grand-mother opened it in 1927! But because of his medical condition, Alain Lamongie had to call it a day in 2021—he’s unfortunately passed away since. Then there was only the beautiful Millescamp bookshop left, but it closed down a few years ago. And so, there was no more antiquarian bookshop in Périgueux, until the opening of Babel in June 2023!
I was walking around last winter, when I came across the Babel bookshop in the André-Saigne street, close to the cathedral. I could hardly believe it—a new antiquarian bookshop in Périgueux? And a very nice one. The shop windows were filled with beautiful morocco bindings, old paintings and various vanitas—including an incredible half-dead and half-skull head with a worm coming out of its forehead. When I entered the bookshop, Mathieu Salzgeber welcomed me and let me freely walk around his kingdom that resembles an old curiosity shop, or “cabinet de curiosités”. Mathieu is a discreet man, who’s been “worshipping books” from his childhood, although no one in his family was really familiar with them. He did his basic training at the prestigious Walden’s bookshop in Paris before moving to Bayeux, Normandie. He eventually settled in Périgueux, as he “was attracted to the climate and to the many forests,” he confessed to a local newspaper. And he made his bookshop in his image, intriguing and hearty.
You’ll find a huge choice of literature, history and various others at Babel—mostly antiquarian books but also nice editions at very affordable prices. After he joined the Syndicat national de la librairie ancienne et moderne (SLAM), he published a profession of faith on their website (slamlivrerare.org/librairie-babel), stating: “I’ve always refused to specialize into a specific field—this is toonarrow-minded. I’m curious of—almost—everything, and I like to offer books that cover a wide field of knowledge from every period.” Mathieu is from the old school: he doesn’t really want his picture to be published, and he loves books more than business. “These books, what they contain, the way they’re clad—I dedicate myself to exhume them with fervour. I want to enhance them, to pass them on.” Do not hesitate to engage the discussion—Mathieu resembles the books he sells: under a very elegant and neat exterior, he’s burning with passion inside. So if you pass through Périgueux, you know where to stop—far from our modern websites and electronic shops, this unexpected oasis in the spreading desert of physical bookshops is here to remind us that what makes books interesting at the end of the day is, and will always be, the human factor.
Babel, Mathieu Salzgeber
3, rue André Saigne
24000 Périgueux
Tel : + 33 (0)684 155 905.
E-mail : babel.librairie@aol.fr.
