The spirit of the mountains in Paris
Unique in Paris and almost 100 years old - it was founded in 1933 - the Librairie des Alpes is well known to mountaineers, hikers and more generally all mountain lovers. Located at the beginning of the Rue de Seine, at number 6, next to the photographic agency Roger-Viollet, close to the Pont des Arts and the French Academy, this little blue shop has been able to withstand the onslaught of "ill-informed From the Left Bank which, to paraphrase Alain Souchon, now come to "sell their clothes in bookstores". For a long time, big names in mountaineering (Maurice Herzog, Gaston Rebuffat, Pierre Mazeaud, Catherine Destivelle) made it their base camp. Because it is here that breathes the spirit of the mountain, on its fund of rare books - some dating from the eighteenth century - topo-guides not found elsewhere, old maps, original engravings or unusual objects. As for the photo, it obviously holds a place of choice at the Librairie des Alpes. Permanently presented are vintage prints, thematic exhibitions of famous photographers or young talents who will not wait long to become one. Because (good) photography does not have in common with mountaineering this faculty to offer immediate and true emotions, this feeling of mastering the world, if not to possess it?