French Treasures

Look at these beautiful treasures I found in Paris! Clearly, my photography skills (serious lack of) don't do them justice...although something tells me that no photo could really capture their tremendous beauty. Their aged bindings, gorgeous texture, intricate details, and previous owner's names handwritten in them...they are so precious to me.

I found these beautiful treasures on the Left Bank of the Seine in St. Germain-des-Prés, purchasing them from one of those book carts along the Seine. I love beautiful old books in general and I really want to get my book-loving hands on some more old French books so that I can have them all over my house one day. But for the time being, I was so happy to have found these three. In addition to being beautiful, each is meaningful to me in its own way. Believe me, it was so difficult settling on just three but I really took my time pouring through the vendors' collections and I adore the three I chose.

"Les Deux Nigauds" seems to be a comedy, published in 1913. Translated, it means, "The Two Numbskulls" and how could I pass that up? Not only did I buy this book because it was beautiful and I love the title, but I am going to use it to strengthen my French. I will probably read portions out loud, then read through them again, and then translate it in a notebook. Yes, major nerd alert...I'm very excited about doing this!


The second is a dictionary, "Nouveau Dictionnaire de Poche de la Langue Française," published in 1821. Translated, it is "Latest French Language Pocket Dictionary." It is definitely not pocket-sized by today's standards but rather compact when compared to most dictionaries. It has aged so beautifully, with its yellowish brown spots on the pages and the distress of the leather cover. I really am a word/language person and of course, adore the French language in general. To know that this dictionary is almost 200 years old just makes it even more precious. How many people relied on this dictionary and what were their lives like? I love getting lost in those thoughts.


The last one is "Manuel Épistolaire ou Modeles de Lettres Sur Différens Sujets." Translated...Epistolary Manual or Models of Letters On Different Subjects. This is a guide on appropriate letter writing published in 1787! There are models for "Félicitations" (Congratulations), "Invitations," "Justifications" (Justification/Proof), "Narrations/Descriptions," "Obligeantes" (Obliging/Kind) and other categories. Just as with the dictionary, I get lost in thoughts of who used this book and what their lives were like. One of the things that I deeply respect about the French is their high regard for appropriate language use. I will definitely be blogging about that one of these days...about the Académie Française and the French regard for preserving and protecting their language.


I really did not expect that I would bring something so special home with me from Paris. I brought wine and Ricard to share with my family and I grabbed a few postcards and took a lot of photos, but finding these gorgeous books just made my trip so much more incredible. So, here they sit, on a ledge above my computer. I look up at them daily. In part, they remind me of my solitary adventure to a city I had longed to see for so long. And then they also serve as these objects of beauty, with their own unique history, and just the simple fact that they are French charms me every time!