Bouquinistes

The dark green metal boxes clamped to the stone walls along the Seine are the oldest retail space in Paris. Each box belongs to a bouquiniste, a bookseller who operates under a strict municipal permit. In the nineteenth century, these vendors were migratory, carrying their stock in baskets or wooden crates. It took a law in eighteen fifty-nine to anchor them here permanently. When the sun sets, the sellers fold their heavy iron lids down and secure them with padlocks.