Booksellers of Paris
July Editions
Irene Jonas

Open-air booksellers, descendants of the itinerant peddlers of the Ancien Régime, inseparable characters from the banks of the Seine, the booksellers of Paris stretch over three kilometers. Damaged by internet sales, the pandemic and threats of displacement, they survive against all odds. On the Quai de la Tournelle, at the start of Boulevard Saint-Germain, there is a small group of die-hards. Booksellers they are, booksellers they will remain, refusing to give in to the siren song of miniature and colorful Eiffel Towers. A few years ago, Irène Jonas decided to carry out a sociological and photographic study on these “last of the Mohicans”; rather than walking the quays, she chose to sit regularly, before and after covid, on a bench on the Quai de la Tournelle. Spending time in the same place, being able to observe their practices, being accepted, meeting their buyers and being able to support them in their research for works, such was the photographer's approach. At the crossroads of sociology and documentary fiction, Irène Jonas paints the portrait of these key players in Parisian cultural and heritage life. This work was started as part of a Masterclass at the VU' agency, and ended with the adventure of the Bal des Rejetons. Bouquinistes de Paris is the fruit of this long-term work: extracts from interviews and documentary or historical texts alternate with black and white photographs imbued with mystery and nostalgia for a timeless Paris.