2012 Rare Books fair

The first library of the barristers of Paris was opened in 1708 before being closed when the Ordre des Avocats was suspended in 1790. A new library was created in 1810 at the same time as Napoleon I re-established the bar. In 1871, it was seriously damaged by a fire at the Paris law courts during the period of the Commune, but numerous donations soon ensured that the losses were repaired. Today, still housed in the Paris law courts, the library is an important repository of old legal and non-legal books, manuscripts, drawings and prints. The most striking historical pieces in the collections can be admired by the public in the museum of the Paris Bar, which opened its doors some thirty years ago in the vaulted cellars of an old 17th century town house in the Rue du Jour, close to the church of Saint-Eustache. The "bibliothèque des avocats" is reserved for members of the Bar and the museum can only be visited by appointment. The International Antiquarian Book Fair will therefore offer aficionados the chance to discover a number of treasures which are ordinarily not available to the public.  

This year, the International Antiquarian Book Fair pays homage to a guest who is unknown or little-known to book lovers, amateurs of prints and the general public: the Ordre des avocats de Paris. The collections of the Paris Bar are only rarely open to the public and we might be tempted to believe that they merely comprise austere legal works of interest only to legal experts. 
Visitors to the 2012 Book Fair will soon see otherwise as they discover the hidden treasures of the Paris Bar: illuminations rub shoulders with the incunabula and rare and precious books dating from the 16th century to the present day.
While legal works are predominant, they are very attractive and stand comparison with the numerous non-legal works which bear witness to the wealth and diversity of the bibliothèque des avocats de Paris. An extensive collection of prints offers a chance to admire the numerous illustrations inspired by the law, ranging from allegories to caricatures. 
Autograph aficionados will adore the exhibition of manuscripts written by lawyers who pleaded the cases of such famous names as Marie-Antoinette, Emile Zola, Alfred Dreyfus, Madame Caillaux, Jaurès' assassin or Marshal Pétain. Located at the very heart of the Paris law courts, the bibliothèque des avocats is not open to the public. The 2012 Book Fair therefore offers a unique opportunity to discover this exceptional heritage.

If aficionados are keen to take another look at these treasures and discover new ones, the Musée du barreau de Paris, located in the vaulted cellars of the Hôtel de la Porte near the church of Sainte Eustache, opens its doors by appointment. The law and its practitioners are there to offer a journey through time to rediscover the famous episodes in the history of France. This visit offers history enthusiasts and heritage lovers the chance to continue the dialogue begun under the glass roof of the Grand Palais. 

EXHIBITION: « À TABLE ! »

 
Selection from the Department of Prints 
and Photography of the French National Library 
at the 2012 Fine Print Fair

For the 2012 Fine Print and Antiquarian Book Fair, the Fine Print and Photography Department of the French National Library wants to present a selection of precious and original works concerning table art. From the introduction of the fork to the French court by Catherine de Médici to the seven-sitting menus of the interminable meals which are the essence of French gastronomy recently included on the list of masterpieces of intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO, thirty works will showcase this jovial and federating theme.
Old prints will illustrate the classic iconography of the figurative banquet in Biblical or historical episodes, such as the famous feast given by Louis XIII for the Chevaliers de l'Ordre du Saint Esprit in 1633, immortalised by Abraham Bosse. 

The theme will also offer the chance to explore the social aspect of table art, its traditions and its technical innovations, for example the arrival of gas in household kitchens, illustrated with a humours eye in a poster by Grignon at the start of the 20th century. The Department of Fine Prints also boasts a wealth of engravings or drawings on gold-plated or porcelain crockery as well as a beautiful collection of menus from the 19th and 20th centuries, some of which will be on show.

Finally, the subject has always lent itself - and continues to do so - to caricatures of Rabelaisian culinary excess and voluptuousness: the Pantagruel wood engraving by Gustave Doré will therefore be a choice piece in the exhibition.

A remedy against austerity, the selection of the Department of Fine Prints will be nothing if not convivial and gastronomic in 2012!

EXHIBITION: LAW. FROM FRANÇOIS VILLON TO GEORGES SIMENON.
The booksellers' selection.

On stand E14-F13, there is a selection of curious books and documents relating to the theme of the law: great literary and historical trials, lawyer-writers, condemned books, satires of the legal world, polemics surrounding law and prison, nuggets of crime literature, founding texts, etc. The exhibitors will showcase the most evocative and unusual pieces from their reserves.
South aisle, stand E14-F13.


"INTRODUCTION TO ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS" STAND
Everything you always wanted to know about antiquarian books but never dared to ask.

Since 2009, an introduction to book collecting stand has welcomed visitors throughout the entire fair. Booksellers who are members of SLAM answer any questions budding collectors might have while accompanying them in their first purchase and sharing their expertise and passion. The works presented here are selected by the booksellers participating in the fair and they all include a detailed notice and enable anyone and everyone to discover the joys of book collecting.
West aisle, stand P9-P12.