As I wandered the corridors of Paris Photo, I was lucky enough to come across Manfred Heiting, a major collector who lives in the US. In addition to his photography collection and his archives, he also sold his collection of some 30,000 photography-based books to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in 2012. The delivery process will be completed by 2023. The museum will contain an entire room devoted to his collection, which contains books published between 1890 and 1980. The dates were not a matter of coincidence: half-tone printing was invented between 1883 and 1885 while, for Heiting, books lost their appeal in the 1980s with the decline of artisan book-making. He carried on adding to his collection, however. He believes that Paris Photo is the best place to acquire books from before the 1960s because of all the major antiquarian book sellers present:
- Dirk K. Bakker, Amsterdam
- Oliver J. Wood, London
- Harper’s Books, East Hampton (NY)
- Komiyama, Tokyo
- Anticuaria Poema,Buenos Aires
- Chloé & Denis Ozanne, Paris
- Tissato Nakahara, Paris
- Librairie 213, Paris
Paris Photo is also important for him because it is a chance to see and handle the books: condition is the key factor in determining the value of an old book.
Denis Ozanne tells us: “I can assure you that a poorly conserved book will age must quicker than you’d think. You have to be very careful with the light, and the use of bookmarks or protective covers made from acidic paper. This is especially true for recent books, often printed on paper of mediocre quality. You absolutely have to use the right products, such as those supplied by Stouls, for example.” Manfred Heiting adds the temperature is another key factor.
INFORMATION
http://www.parisphoto.com
