Body affiliated to the General Inspectorate of the Printed Book (IGLI)
Dear bibliophiles, good day,
You may have been surprised, on reading the previous article, to learn that the keeper of the cabinet of bibliophilic curiosities that is this blog had decided, after more than fifteen years of a more or less silent vigil, to close gently the notebook in which he recorded his finds.
Rest assured: the volume does not end, it simply changes hands.
The bookmark has been passed on, the margin goes on being written.
At the origin of these pages there is Hugues, passionate bibliophile, explorer of margins, cartographer of entries, who since 2008 has made of this site a rare space, where erudition flirts with fantasy, and where love of the book is conjugated in the first person plural.
The Guilde des Bibliopolicés (the Guild), henceforth in charge of the scriptorium, salutes this founding work with gratitude, and undertakes to pursue, with respect but without excessive reverence, this learned and critical adventure.
A Guild? What for?
Somebody had to meddle.
Too many “extremely rare” works seen three times a week.
Too many dedications from the author to his cousin passed off as autograph treasures.
Too many made-up moroccos, lyrical notices, bogus printings on precious papers.
In this joyous bibliophilic disorder, a discreet and inflexible order has arisen.
Born of the constant need to order, to clarify, sometimes to suspect, and always to celebrate the world of the old book, the Guild presents itself today as a circle of independent bibliophiles, gathered around a common ethic: love of the text, rigour of examination, and a healthy irony toward the failings of the contemporary bibliophilic market.
The Guild has neither official premises nor uniform (though the grey coat and the loupe on a chain are tolerated). It operates in the discreet shadow of private libraries, old catalogues and notices that are too well turned.
We, bibliophiles, free men, stubborn scholars, patented satirists, declare the existence of the Guild, an independent body, benevolent but intransigent, devoted to the critical and burlesque surveillance of the bibliophilic world.
We shall act without hatred, without dogma, without complaint, but with methodical slowness, a precise eye and a sharpened pen.
Official affiliation. The Guild acts in direct connection with the General Inspectorate of the Printed Book (IGLI), of which it constitutes the operational arm in the public and critical sphere. The IGLI, a body of bibliographic control with cross-cutting competences, supplies the Guild with the means of its missions: reports, archiving, validation, documentation.
Motto.
“Between the first edition and the first illusion, there is the Guild.”
Founding manifesto (extract).
We, founding members of the Guild, declare:
That the world of the old book deserves a gaze at once passionate and vigilant;
That so-called “original” editions are not always so;
That the deluxe printing (tirage de tête) is sometimes a printing gone awry (tirage de travers);
That erudition excludes neither humour nor suspicion;
…and that it is fitting, consequently, to institute a Guild, composed of lucid amateurs, fastidious aesthetes and volunteer bibliophile investigators.
Methodology. A rigorous tone, but never a heavy one. Irony allowed, but argued. Precise references, where possible. Enlightened suspicion, always.
Editorial programme to come. A series of confidential IGLI reports, from the pen of its inspectors (we are obliged to); in-depth articles on bibliophilic subjects; outside contributions by guest bibliophiles (among them Octave Uzanne); critical studies of notices, catalogues, trends; bibliophilic tales; the adventures of Gabriel Varennes; temporal chronicles by Alcide Raturon, bibliophile; an index of forgotten books; articles from the cabinet of parallel elegances; notebooks of bibliophilic observation; clinical reports; a register of false authors and true pseudonyms; and so on.
The Guild does not seek to exclude, but to understand.
It does not judge, it enlightens.
And when it suspects, it is always with the book open, and never quite seriously.
Conclusion. The Guild promises neither indulgence nor rest. Every false luxury, every embellished date, every abusive mention will be noted, classified and, if necessary, mocked with method. But let no one be mistaken: this vigilance was not born of the mere taste for order. It comes also from a deep tenderness for the book, for its readers, and for those passionate bibliophiles, at times absent-minded, who, by their errors as by their finds, feed the great comedy of the printed paper.
“Between the first edition and the first illusion, there is the Guild.”
Hold on to your margins.
Paul Mandebois, President.
Si cette chronique vous a plu : recevez trois nouvelles par semaine — livres rares, reliures, enchères, et les Dossiers IGLI. 18 ans d'archives, quelques milliers de lecteurs.
Pas de pub, pas de revente de données. Désabonnement en un clic.
IGLI Clinical Files: Thierry B., the Man Who Counted the Books He Did Not Buy
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