Alexis Noqué
The Bookshop
A bookshop born from the eye of a lover of history, science and literature - and from one certainty: rare collector's pieces are living objects, deserving to be studied as much as loved.
The founding of the bookshop
I became a bookseller the way one returns to oneself. A collector first and foremost, I first came to Jules Verne, whose universe opened me to exploration – of worlds as of ideas. Very soon, old books asserted themselves, followed by autographs, discovered through inscriptions: those manuscript fragments that speak of the intimacy, the struggles, the friendships of those who came before us.
It all began with a collection of comic books - first searches, first joys of the find. In 2024, I chose to make it officially my profession and to devote the bookshop to rare books, manuscripts and autographs. The following year, the bookshop joined the SLAM then the LILA, and presented its first selection at an international fair, at the Carreau du Temple in Paris for the Salon des Livres rares & des Arts Graphiques.
The bookshop is now based in Paris and works with collectors, institutions and the curious from around the world.
From the Muséum to manuscripts
My training in art history and archaeology, extended by a specialisation in palaeoanthropology at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, taught me to place every object within the long span of time. After a foray into public affairs and consulting, I chose to return to what had always driven me: books. I officially founded my bookshop in 2024, having nurtured this project for several years.
At the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, I studied hominin mandibles and endocrania - I learned to look at an ancient object as a witness, to describe it without betraying what it tells us, to reconstruct the history of which it is a fragment.
This is exactly the work I do today. A manuscript, an autograph letter, a first edition are other kinds of fossils: material traces left behind by a thought. The gesture is the same - to examine, to date, to contextualise, to hand down.
Every piece tells a story; my profession is to make it heard.
Alexis Noqué
Today
The catalogue favours pieces of character: science and natural history, literature, travel, science fiction, fantasy.... and, in truth, anything that is interesting and rare! Alongside sales, the bookshop offers appraisals and assists in building collections - and each year prepares its participation in book fairs, in Paris as well as internationally.
Wish to consign a piece, have a library appraised, or simply talk books? Write to us - we answer all our messages.