The Librairie Paul Jammes is located in Paris, in the heart of Saint-Germain des Prés, the historical district of publishers, booksellers, bookbinders, and antique dealers, not far from the Sorbonne.
It was in 1925 that Paul Jammes set up shop and opened his bookstore at 3 rue Gozlin, formerly rue Sainte-Marguerite, on the ground floor of a building dating from c. 1640, on the old grounds of the abbey of Saint -Germain des Prés. Since then, four generations have worked here, Paul Jammes, his sons Pierre and André Jammes, Isabelle Jammes and Esther Jammes, each developing the bookshop according to their personalities, their centres of interest and of course those of collectors, bibliophiles, academics, librarians, and book artisans.
This is how the bookstore, originally focusing on “scholarly books”, has evolved since the second world war and devoted itself to rare books without abandoning the tradition of useful books. It covers the main themes of human knowledge but always with the particular focus that has marked the Paul Jammes bookstore for decades: the history of books, printing, typography, image, graphic arts and techniques.
The place has of course undergone some transformations but the “old bookshop” can still be seen through the eye of André Kertesz, who photographed it while passing through Paris in 1963. These photographs were published in 1975 under the name “3 rue Gozlin” in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bookstore. In 2000, on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, Erik Desmazières made a series of engravings and this magnificent booklet was given to the friends of the Paul Jammes Bookstore.
Next stop, 2025 for the 100th anniversary!