  EVERY bibliophile who by chance finds himself in Paris, whether on urgent affairs or on pleasure intent, invariably manages to visit that richest of hunting-grounds, the book-lined quays, where, perhaps, more unexpected treasures have been picked up than in any other city of Europe. It is of this happy hunting-ground and those who haunt it—the book-hunters and the bookstall-keepers; the books they buy and the books they sell; whence they come and whither they go; the finds, the losses, the disappointments, and red-letter days—that M. Uzanne writes in this attractive volume, in that felicitous and suggestive manner which has made him so well known in present-day literature. Opinions of the Press on 'The Book-Hunter in Paris.''A very interesting book. Mr. Birrell's introduction is a pleasant and useful explanation of the volume, which is presented in a form fully deserving of its literary merits.'—Times. 'M. Uzanne's chapters are full of curious information, which will have special attraction for those English book-hunters to whom Paris is unknown. The style is agreeably anecdotic, and the numerous woodcuts are quaint and graphic.'—Globe. 'With real regret we lay down so charmingly written a volume, and it is with no small satisfaction that we note the publisher's announcement that a companion volume on "The Book-Hunter in London" will shortly be issued.'—St. James's Budget. 'M. Uzanne's book is delightful, with never a heavy touch, but crammed with quaint traditions, humorous characteristics, charming gossip.'—Graphic. 'M. Uzanne sets forth with a good deal of pathos, happily leavened with humour, the history, past and present, of the stall-keepers and the quays of the Seine, in whose trays many a notable trouvaille has been made in other times.'—Pall Mall Gazette. 'The interest of the book is heightened by the characteristic vignettes which are interwoven with the text on almost every other page.'—The Standard. 'Lightly does he carry his learning and brightly does he sketch the bookmen and their riverside market. Of present interest to all book-lovers are his piquant contrasts of the old order and the new.'—Saturday Review. 'To collectors the book will appeal with special force, but the general reader, if he be gifted with ordinary intelligence, will also enjoy it. It is not dry; in fact, to use the familiar expression, it is "as interesting as a novel."'—Publishers' Circular. 'The book is full of stories of the characteristics of the fraternity, anecdotes, and biographical sketches of past stall-keepers and their most famous patrons.'—Daily Graphic. 'Everybody knows M. Uzanne's pleasant, garrulous style—how he takes his readers into his confidence, how he spins phrases lovingly, and always keeps you in good spirits. He was just the man to write such a book.'—Bookman. 'The work is always learned, and (what is not so easy) always light. Everybody who is the least of a book-hunter ought to read it at once, or rather, ought to hunt for it first; and then, to show that it is a better sort of book than many that are hunted, read it.'—Scotsman. owl book-plate |
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