What is a bibliophile?

In addition to having bestowed upon poetry the gift of his breath, Gérard de Nerval offered, in Les Filles du feu, the most beautiful portrayals of bibliophiles in literature. In Angélique (1854), he browses a rare book at a Frankfurt bookseller's that he cannot bring himself to buy, notes the exact title, returns to Paris, scours libraries, searches, searches, searches again. Unfortunately, the book is nowhere to be found! In Sylvie, he enters "trembling" into the library of a deceased uncle and sees the volumes that inhabit it as "old friends of the one who was no more."

If you too tremble at the sight of a beautiful library, if the feel of a full morocco binding disturbs you, if comparing an edition printed on Japanese paper makes you lose the thread of conversation: look no further. You are a bibliophile. It is a known affection, one of those that positively change and beautify life, and for which KOEGUI bookstore has many remedies.

What SLAM means by bibliophile

SLAM's definition is strict: a bibliophile is a person who loves, seeks, and carefully and tastefully preserves rare or precious books (Anne Lamort, La bibliophilie, SLAM, 2021). Three verbs in order. Loving is not enough: one must seek, which implies a method, a framework for understanding the object. And preserve, which implies precise conditions that we have applied on rue Vieille Boucherie in Bayonne since 2011.

What separates the bibliophile from the ordinary reader is not passion. It is knowledge. And knowledge is acquired.

Three expressions of bibliophilia, not three levels

Why does one become a bibliophile? Often through a book. Not just any book: the one that mattered, read at school or discovered by chance, that shaped a perspective, opened an appetite, made one want to read something else. For some, it's Le Grand Meaulnes, for others Le Petit Chose, for still others La Gloire de mon père or Les Racines du ciel. To one day acquire a beautiful, elegantly bound copy of this totem book is to establish a milestone in one's library, to give it a personal meaning. This is often where passion is born and where bibliophilia begins, without one even knowing it yet.

Bibliophilia is not a staircase. Some immediately enter through fine paper editions, others never leave standard editions and flourish there. What we observe is that the entrance matters little. What matters is having crossed it.

Bibliophile societies: shared pleasure

There are enthusiasts who do not collect alone. They group together, set rules, and commission custom print runs. The XXs are the most radical example we know.

Pierre Dauze founded this bibliophile society in 1897. Twenty members (including Juliette Adam, Léon Bourgeois, Roland Bonaparte) had chosen works printed in a number of copies strictly equal to their membership, as original editions. On watermarked laid paper with their mark, numbered, not offered for commercial sale. Twenty members, twenty copies, not one more. Dauze himself documented their method in his Manuel de l'amateur d'éditions originales.

This printing does not appear in the justification of the commercial edition. It has its own cover, its own justification, its discreet existence. It does not advertise itself ("let's live happily, let's live hidden," right?). It's up to the bibliophile to track it down.

We have two volumes from the XX print run in stock. Minnie Brandon by Léon Hennique (Bibliothèque Charpentier, 1899), No. 5 of 20, not commercially available (naturally!), in a full fabric Bradel binding, enriched with the complete suite of 18 color engravings by Thévenot and 4 decomposition plates. And one of the twenty copies of Malraux's Conquérants (Grasset, 1928), numbered and signed by the author, featuring the distinctive pink and beige double cover unique to the XX print run, absent from the ordinary Grasset edition, bound in 1970 by Pierre-Lucien Martin in black and lilac half-box under a slipcase.

Two books from the same circle. Two beautiful objects, of great refinement. Twenty copies each, no more.

Giving oneself the means to verify: reference works

At a certain stage, the bibliophile no longer reads booksellers' descriptions without verifying them. They need the directories. For French literature between 1801 and 1875, Carteret is the authority: Le Trésor du Bibliophile romantique et moderne, four volumes (Paris, Éditions du Vexin français and Laurent Carteret, 1976). Volumes I and II list original editions, volume III 19th-century illustrated books, volume IV general tables. Each entry provides the exact collation, the papers and their hierarchy, and the points allowing one to distinguish one state from another.

We offer this revised and augmented edition in very good condition. This is not a decorative library book. It is a working tool, and many others exist.

The extra-illustrated copy: Maurice Dugueyt's passion

Bibliophilia can go far beyond a fine copy on high-quality paper. It can produce what the English call an extra-illustrated copy: a copy whose owner has considerably augmented the original material, to the point of making it a unique object.

René Baudu's Agora, illustrated by Lobel-Riche (Paris, for the authors, 1925), is the most accomplished example we have in stock. The print run was limited to 300 numbered copies. This one was composed by the artist himself and printed specially for Maurice Dugueyt, a notary from Lyon. To the 23 original drypoint compositions are added all the proofs in 4 to 7 successive states per plate, 24 original drawings, watercolors, pastels, and inks, a suite of 51 signed color drawings on different media, 8 subscription forms each accompanied by a distinct etching, and two original signed copperplates embedded in an elegant full salmon morocco binding signed by Magnier, which reflects the care Dugueyt took with the object of his passion.

This volume is a complete archive of the genesis of an illustrated book, compiled by an enthusiast who wanted nothing to be lost. Dugueyt transformed a multiple into a unicum. This is bibliophilia at its most accomplished.

The eye of the KOEGUI bookstore

Neither age, nor wealth, nor even general culture condition passion; only curiosity matters. Our clients are between 16 and 99 years old and all "entered" bibliophilia through the same door: the shock produced by encountering a rare book object: a cover, an unusual paper under their fingers, a marvelous binding—something happened that seduced and captivated them. The method comes later.

We also apply this method to conservation: temperature maintained between 18 and 20 °C, relative humidity between 50 and 60%, appropriate lighting. Our books are maintained with a special wax, and each order is carefully packaged to ensure the safety of the book until it reaches its recipient. A beautiful book is a precious object. It deserves to be treated as such.

What the bookseller looks at first

The edition, the print run, the condition, the binding, the provenance: these five criteria are developed in our articles What is an original edition? and How to appraise an old book? A specific observation related to bibliophilia is added: the value of a copy is never the mechanical sum of its criteria. Anne Lamort speaks of "bibliophilic condition" to designate this harmony between the text, the paper, the binding, and the history of the copy. Two volumes from the same print run, in identical condition, are not worth the same if one bears the signature of a great binder and the other does not. What the bookseller sees first is this harmony. Or its absence.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a reader and a bibliophile?

A reader is interested in the text. A bibliophile is also interested in the object that carries it: the paper, the binding, the history of the copy. The two are not mutually exclusive (most bibliophiles are great readers), but bibliophilia adds a material and historical dimension that reading alone does not imply.

Do you need a large budget to start?

No. Prévert's L'Ange gardien-chiourme (Fontaine, 1945, "L'âge d'or" collection, illustrated by Mario Prassinos) proves it: numbered original edition on white vellum. A beautiful object, a well-known author, an accessible starting price.

Is an extra-illustrated copy always worth more than an original paperback copy?

Not automatically. The value of an extra-illustrated copy lies in the consistency between the additions and the work. In Baudu's Agora, the whole was assembled by the artist himself for a specific recipient: each added piece documents the genesis of the book. It is this connection that makes the object. A copy overloaded with pieces unrelated to the text benefits from none of these qualities.

Can a professional bookseller's catalog be misleading?

No, and it is an ethical obligation. As SLAM members, our descriptions are binding: the state of preservation, the origin of the binding, and any defects are systematically mentioned. The absence of the mention "original edition" is never an oversight. It is information. Our clients' trust is based on this transparency.

What are the synonyms for bibliophile?

Book lover, collector, sometimes bibliomaniac. The latter term is not a strict synonym: the bibliophile chooses and knows their books, whereas the bibliomaniac accumulates. The nuance matters because it states the essential: bibliophilia is not a question of quantity.

Where to start?

Browsing our catalog is a first way to enter bibliophilia: over 13,000 titles, from original editions to unique copies, classified and described according to SLAM requirements. We are also present at the Salon du Livre Rare in Paris and the ABAA New York Book Fair, two events where conversation with a bookseller is worth all the catalogs.

Starting a collection is an important moment. It deserves to be well supported. Contacting us is an opportunity to clarify one's tastes, guide one's research, and avoid errors that passion alone does not prevent.

To go further

• What is an original edition?
• What makes a book rare?
• How to appraise an old book?
• What is an old book?
• View our original editions in stock
• View our unique copies in stock

Sources

• Anne Lamort, La bibliophilie, SLAM, 2021.
• Pierre Dauze, Manuel de l'amateur d'éditions originales, Gallica/BnF.
• Laurent Carteret, Le Trésor du Bibliophile romantique et moderne 1801-1875, 4 vol., Éditions du Vexin français et Laurent Carteret, 1976.
• Gérard de Nerval, Les Filles du feu (Angélique, Sylvie), 1854.