The city’s libraries division could still boast one glorious institution. The Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris sat in the heart of the Marais in a grandiose sixteenth-century hôtel built for a king’s daughter. Here ceilings were high, shelves and tables were cut from solid oak, leather bindings were commonplace, and many of the books on offer were printed on fabric-based paper rather than fragile woodpulp, explaining why they had weathered hundreds of years so effortlessly. As its name indicated, the library was dedicated to the city’s historical collections. With no trashy bestsellers on offer, it was frequented by researchers and amateur historians rather than the general public, and its staff were as learned as its readers.
