Antiquarian books

Hemingway never slept here

Antiquarian books at Shakespeare & Co., a Paris literary institution.

The reflection of Notre Dame Cathedral is visible in the windows. The board contains a treatise written by store owner George Whitman.

Rare books - including many first editions - comprise this section of the book store. Don't you think "French Girls Are Vicious" is a memorable title?

Stairs leading to more books and rooms with beds for the "tumbleweed" young writers who've stayed at Shakespeare & Co. Plastic tarpulin covers the ceiling, as pieces of plaster are literally falling on people's heads. The store's general rundown look is part of its appeal to visitors.

A jumble of books on the main floor of Shakespeare & Co.

An excerpt from John Affleck's article at Literary Traveler:

In 1951, thirty years after Sylvia Beach opened Shakespeare and Company, George Whitman opened Le Mistral, an English language bookshop at 37, rue de la Boucherie, on the Left Bank just across the Seine from Notre Dame. He'd bought the prime location with an inheritance and filled it with books he'd acquired with G.I. book vouchers he'd bummed from non-literary troops, amassing an enviable collection of first editions from Lost Generation writers.

Like Sylvia, he used the second floor as a library and venue for literary gatherings, and it quickly filled with the new generation of ex-pat writers. A different group, to be sure; more fragmented, and more daring. When Ginsberg and the Beats arrived in Paris in the late 50s they read their latest works on the street outside the shop: Corso read his poems, Ginsberg read Howl and, most shocking, Burroughs read from Naked Lunch. At the other extreme, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who would go on to open the sister City Lights bookshop in San Francisco, slaved away at his doctoral thesis on T.S. Eliot's poetry, always finding refuge at 37, rue de la Boucherie.

Following Sylvia Beach's death in 1962, George renamed his bookshop Shakespeare and Company in her honor, though almost certainly without her permission. And while there was no shortage of literary aspirants passing through, George still sought his Hemingway and Joyce. To help catch them, he started the "Tumbleweed Hotel;" he installed sleeping berths in the library where down-on-their-luck young writers might stay, provided they "read a book a day" and worked an hour around the shop.

More established writers could stay upstairs in the Writer's Room, boasting three walls packed with rare volumes and considerably more comfortable beds. George estimates 10,000 travelers have stayed for at least a night; each visitor must leave a short autobiography and a photo. Many of these photos adorn the walls of the Writer's Room: Lawrence Durrell, Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, alongside classic shots of Hemingway and Joyce and a seemingly omnipresent Sylvia Beach.

Never married, in his sixties George fathered his only daughter, and proved that the shop's new name was more than just a publicity stunt by naming the girl Sylvia Beach Whitman. Indeed, it is easy to assume, as many tourists do, that it is the same bookshop frequented by Hemingway and Joyce and George does little to correct them. To the contrary, he foments the rumors that he is the illegitimate grandson of Walt Whitman.

While his own legacy may remain very much in Sylvia's shadow, George's tenure as Paris' literary host is now in its fourth decade, having weathered the Beats, the 1968 student riots, the hippies and numerous tax audits by the French authorities (George doesn't accept credit cards; all purchases are cash only). And while he still searches for literary heirs, the ghosts of the fathers have found themselves very much at home at the new Shakespeare and Company. It remains, in the spirit of its predecessor, the best bookshop around.

Comments

[Lynda]

Now that's a bookstore! I can imagine spending hours browsing in there.

[runliarun]

Oh - I could spend hours and hours in this place.

[Lotus Reads]

This bookstore is so absolutely gorgeous, I would pay them to let me work there. You've taken some beautiful pictures, Tara, I so enjoyed looking at them, thanks!

[Vanessa]

You and me, bookstore. soon! I love it! Must go must!!!!

[Amber]

Oh yes! I would spend HOURS in this store.

:)

[lapagefrancaise]

This bookshop just holds a special place in my heart. It is unique, one of a kind, and really much more than just a bookshop. It's a place to get lost in among its wonderful old editions, start conversations with people about their favorite books, and spend hours browsing on a rainy day or sit outside and people watch on a sunny day. I do love this place

[mymelange]

Tara,

I loved this place! I just had to visit on my first trip to Paris. Come to think of it, it kinda looks like the first hotel I stayed in when in Paris....

[Jennifer Ramos]

beautiful, i am dying to go to france...or anywhere in europe. You have some great history there, and your blog has some amaxing pics that take you away for those few minutes you're looking at them.

Jennifer Ramos
Madebygirl.com
*************************
YOU'RE INVITED TO VIEW AND COMMENT ON MY BLOG:
http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/

[Southern Heart]

To be in a bookstore *and* in Paris...I would think it was heaven...

I have loved seeing all of this through you!

[Dana Smith]

Shakespeare is tops on my list to visit when my daughter and I come to Paris in June. We have no real itinerary...just play and "take down" one back street and into another. I read on TripAdvisor lots of minute by minute schedules...I can't do that. We will, most likely, miss things that we regret seeing......but in 4 years will catch them as a College graduation gift. Thank you so much, Tara, for this Blog....it is wonderful as we think of things we want to see.......and it made my daughter realize that she needs to pack her "skinny jeans"......
Dana in VA

[tinker]

What a fun bookstore - and the owner himself, semms like a character from a novel...

Thank you for the peek into some of his 'chapters!'

[Laurie King]

I think I bought an early 19th century map of Mesopotamia at this very store two 3 years ago.

Small world!

Thanks for this.

[rel]

Tara,
Well now you've gone and done it! I always enjoyed walking around Paris with you and peeking into antique shops and gazing at ancient buildings and admiring sleek race horses. Visiting flower shops and buying fragrant and beautiful bouquets and watching you find a place to put them in your lovely apartment has brought me many moments of pleasure.
But now you tempt me with the piece de resistance....THE bookshop in Paris that for some reason I missed both times i visited. I can't think of one thing....Oh, wait a minute...Bookshops are in the top two things i most enjoy in life.
I think I shall remember to visit Shakespeare & Co. this fall, but please remind me just in case. ;)
rel

[GoGo]

:). Thanks for this post. Its been a moment since I could make it here, and now here, I realize I have missed your writing very much!

I love the red stair photo. I want to touch them.

~GoGo

[pepek]

Meant that in a good way, of course! I LOVE the smell of old books better than the smell of bread.

[pepek]

Thanks for the tour! I could SMELL this bookstore....

[naturegirl]

Tara I just love that you allow me to explore and have a glimpse into your Parisian treasures!
For this reason I award you with.......
~THE THINKING BLOGGER AWARD!~
Come by my site and see..P.s. I am still in the process of posting about it.hugs NG

[AnnieElf]

There are so many things that fascinate me about this post not the least of which is the history dripping from this place - the owner's blackboard history, the crumbling ceiling, Notre Dame's reflection, and the dank/musty odor I can so clearly imagine as I enjoy these photos. What a treasure to survive through weather, wars, and whims of development.

[holli]

There are so many things I liked about this post and the pictures. First that it involved a bookstore - check.

French girls are vicious? Send them over to our neighborhood. Did you buy that book? If not - you should. But then you would have to throw out your sink.

I LOVE the reflection in the windows.. and the picture of the red stairs is inviting and mysterious. Plus I just love how they've aged with all the people walking them year after year.

[AscenderRisesAbove]

what a delightful looking shop! the stairway into the attic photo invites one to write a book all thier own!

[Carla]

What a fabulous looking little bookstore. I must remember this place. And I will definitely be taking a more thorough look at your blog before my next visit to Paris. Thanks.

[Brian]

Love old bookstores and old books.

[Regina Clare Jane]

Oh, how I love books- I could die in there... very peacefully...

[Robin Sherwoodrobi]

Oh My Shakespear and Co. Many happy hours as an American in Paris are spent there.
best
Robin

[The Bold Soul]

Thanks for this peek into one of my favorite bookshops in Paris! I didn't realize this wasn't Beach's original, but rather "in the spirit of" which I guess is the next best thing. Nonetheless it's a great place to browse and even buy (on my last visit I decided to buy a copy of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"... it seemed appropriate!)

And when you buy, they will stamp your purchases with a "Point Zero" stamp, a tradition they started who knows when but because they are across the river from Notre Dame which is Point Zero for all distances meansured in France from Paris. (You can see the little Point Zero plaque embedded in the stones in the courtyard just in front of the center portal of the cathedral.)

I can't wait to come back to Paris after my holiday here in NJ... just 4 more days!

Tara responds:
Lisa, my piece entitled "Notre Dame and Point Zero" appeared on April 3, including a photograph of Point Zero.