1734 Map of Paris, Found in an old Bookshop

Plan du Paris Turgot

In a Parisian bookstore that claims to have over a mile of book shelves,

I found a few maps of Paris, thanks to my friend Lorna.

When I carried them to the counter the owner of the shop said,

"Oh you like Turgot's maps do you? Do you want to see a real one dating 1734?"

I had to pop my eyes back inside of my eye sockets when he gave me the big book, pointed to his desk, and said "It is warmer over there, when people are warm they tend to buy more!" He laughed at his own tease, then added, "Go over there, take your time looking at it."

 

Turgot's map of Paris 1700s

Lorna and I drooled over twenty pristine, canvas backed pages.

The book cost 7,500 Euros.

Instead of buying the original (it wasn't an option in my pocketbook world) I bought four mid century copies of Turgot's map to sell.

 

Book shop in Paris

 

Do you like bookshops?

What section do you head for? 

 

 

 

 

 



Comments

29 responses to “1734 Map of Paris, Found in an old Bookshop”

  1. The book is almost bigger than you are! Your hair has really gotten long and looks lovely.
    The paperback fiction, cookbook/memoir and crafts are favorite sections at the local independent bookstore. I bought two copies of 66 Square Feet,A Delicious Life yesterday. One copy for me one for a friend. Love it!

  2. I do love a good old fashioned bookstore. They are becoming hard to find here.
    Invariably I start in Architecture, but I make my way through the whole store. I do love cookbooks too!

  3. OH MY GOSH do I ever love book stores- used- new -small- large ….I could get lost in them-for hours and hours-both my parents loved books too, and my 2 brothers as well; the only one who does not relish a stay in a book store is my sister….I brose all sections history, text books, travel, books set in other countries-stories of france, autobiographies-one summer all I read was autobiographies- books- books books-the list could go on….the map looks delicious!

  4. Love them! Had lunch with my daughter today in one of my favorites. I usually head to the cook book section, travel, and fiction sections. Agree your hair looks great and you may win the next hair contest!

  5. Yes, to bookstores. I don’t really trust people who can’t spend hours browsing in bookstores. My favorite section — travel, especially when mixed with memoir.

  6. I have taken the year off from buying books…and it has become clear that book buying is an addiction for me. Sigh.
    But I love curling up reading cookbooks and finding new mystery writers and finding treasures on the sale shelves. I especially love when there is a cafe and you can sip on your latte while you read.
    But not this year )-:

  7. Janet with Eiffel

    The book section at the thrift store
    is one of my favorite places to visit.
    I have found so many old treasures there.
    Love the look and feel of really old books.
    I bring them home and clean as much of the
    dust and grime from them as possible.
    They are all around my home in piles,
    on shelves and tables.
    In some I have found valentines or love notes,
    even a few notes that were passed between
    classmates over a hundred years ago.
    My favorite is a valentine card addressed
    to “My girl Matilda” from her secret admirer.
    Dated 1889.

  8. In Portland, Oregon there is Powell’s. I daydream on rainy days about spending the day there. Roaming the aisles, settling in a corner with a pile of books to look through. I visit there at least once a year and treasure each visit. I start out in the handcraft section, then general crafts, then art, then history……. I generally make it to 1/4 of the block square building. Bliss!

  9. By mid-century do you mean 19th century?
    Of course I love book stores. We have a marvelous store here: Hennessey and Ingalls that is mostly art and architecture.

  10. We are book people in our home. Sadly, most of the bookstores have gone out of business, even the Used book stores! The closet book store is now about a 10 mile drive. When I do go I like browsing the magazines, the crafts/sewing, autobiographies, memoirs, history. I love to find old books at the thrift stores and Estate sales and I have amassed quite a lot of vintage children’s books. Oh, and I love old Atlas’s so I have a few of those (I like to look up places that I am reading about).

  11. I know that bookstore that Jeannie mentions (Powell’s). It is worth the visit if ever in Portland, Oregon. I first visit the historic fiction, then on to poetry, and then books of beautiful things such as gardens, antiques, and food. Addicted to magazines too.

  12. jend’isère

    Vintage book stores in NY, Paris and London draw me illustrations of atlases and children books. Modern bookstores are for my literary needs, though brocantes are for the rare editions and for the hunt!

  13. Who doesn’t love to browse through bookstores!? I usually head straight for the travel essay section first – for France, bien sur!

  14. I am drooling! I can spend a whole day in a bookshop – new one or old secondhand books’ one. I came across a canvas-backed Ordnance Survey map of the area of the UK my mother comes from – and it was a mere 1947 edition but I was still coo-ing over it as a ‘find’ (I bought it!). I am clocking this post in my bookmarks to put this shop on my agenda when I come (yes, def will do!) to stay in your Parisien apartement. I can imagine you’ll have a wonderful guest folder full of tips of your insider haunts to visit.

  15. Vintage children’s books, poetry, first edition prints

  16. Love books and this post! Corey, you look tres chic!

  17. Marie-Noëlle

    I love bookshops !
    My favourite section is children’s books !!!

  18. Madam Corey, you really must visit Shakespeare and Company while you’re in Paris, if you haven’t yet been. It’s just about the most eccentric, dusty, marvelously jumbled place, a dream come true for people who love old bookshops. It has beds in it too, people can sleep there for free if they help out a little. You would love it, I’m sure. http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/
    37 rue de la Bucherie, 75005 Paris, France

  19. I adore book shops! Happily, my son inherited this love as well. I admit to using my local library for my regular reading, but browse the shelves of books stores for reading inspiration.

  20. I LOVE bookshops and we fortunate enough to be a bookseller for a number of years. My favorite sections are History – specifically Renaissance – and “layman” science.

  21. what a glorious find you have there + i adore the smell of a bookshop + i start at the magazines and work my way through, till the end. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

  22. Dawn Fleming

    I love book shops also. I love all kinds of books and usually start in fiction, then head over to the classics section, biographies, art and travel. I can easily spend hours looking at books, thank you for your blog!

  23. I love books. Period. In shops, in libraries, online, at home — anywhere, actually!

  24. Corey, would you mind sharing which bookstore this is? I love it…Prospero’s library.

  25. Laurie SF

    Floor to ceiling books. Art, travel, history, the classics. I love to collect, and revisit them all. Currently reading Ernest Hemingway’s 1st edition of The Sun Also Rises…a gem we found in my mother-in-law’s library. She too was an avid collector of so many wonderful books.

  26. No doubt I love book stores, especially with old books. I am a map searcher as well. I tend to shop where I can find older models…brocantes, flea markets, estate sales, antique shops, resale shops, etc. What a fun day that must had been!

  27. I adore old book stores not new book stores. Once in a Chicago thrift store a friend and stumbled upon old musty books. She opened one up and immediately put it down and ran for the door. I asked what happened and she said a little girl owned the book and she saw her. A true spooky ghost story. I cautiously open antique books to this day.

  28. I adore book shops — any kind, any place. I tend to head for history, biography, mystery but to be honest, I look for just about everything! I always check the used section at my favorite store. What a find you had! That one is simply a treasure!

  29. Yes, I do love bookstores. I do not buy anymore unless to gift. No more room! All of the books interest me and I especially love old bookstores and individually owned bookstores. Love them so much, I became a librarian! ha
    Your hair is so beautiful, Corey.

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