Help me find this store! (Paris, FR) Prize to the winner!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

OK, I’m going back to Paris next week, and my plans to revisit one of my favorite stores have run into a problem: I lost the bag from the store (that I thought I’d saved) that has the name, address, etc.!

It is a postcard store–thousands and thousands of postcards, all of movie-related subjects: either one-sheets of movie posters, film stills, portrait shots of Hollywood stars, etc. There may be other postcards there, but I don’t remember since the volume of cinema postcards was truly amazing–certainly more than I’ve ever seen anywhere here in the US.

Most of the postcards were in these long wooden cubbies, kind of like a library card catalog where you pulled out a sleeve and flip through the cards inside. It wasn’t a big shop (footprint wise), but it didn’t have to be in order to hold what it did. Unlike a lot of other movie memorabilia stores, I don’t really remember them selling anything else (books, posters, etc.). It was just, IIRC, postcards.

I don’t remember the name of the store. Back in 1997, it was in one location, but when I returned in 2000, it had moved to a newer one. Again, don’t remember the address, but I do remember that it was walking distance from the Louvre (1st Arrondissement).

That’s it. No other info I can provide with any accuracy. HELP! If anyone is able to successfully steer me to the right store, I will pick up something from my trip to Paris & Amsterdam (at their request*) and mail it to them as a big Thank You/late Xmas present.

This board, I know, can perform miracles, so I’m hoping for one here. :crosses fingers: :slight_smile:

*no drugs - lol

2

Are you sure it was an actual store, and not one of the stands along the Seine?

3

Absolutely positive. Most postcard vendors usually have racks to display their various wares, and have maybe a few hundred different types. This place had thousands and was most definitely in a store (door, banks of those heavy wooden sleeves, register, credit card friendly, etc.)

4

Normally I wouldn’t report a negative result, but I spent enough time looking for this last night that I thought I would report in. Pages and pages of searches for cartes postales and cinéma or film turned up nothing likely. Websites for collectors of such things seemed to refer entirely to eBay or PriceMinister, and there are film centers with a gift shop and places such as CineBoutik that sell recent film posters and cards. I found one reference to the closing of a boutique and liquidation of its inventory, but nothing more. I also found an online store.

5

I’m in Paris, and I think I know the store you are looking for. In my mind it’s near St. Michel (which is walking distance from the Louvre but across the river). I’ll try to go on my lunch hour tomorrow to take a photo and you can tell me if it’s the right place.

Otherwise, there are a whole bunch of postcard stores near Chatelet (also walking distance) - I’ll scope some of those out, too.

This gives me a good excuse to get some fresh air and exercise! Thanks!

If I win you can buy me a drink. :smiley:

6

I sent this thread to my BFF, who is French and did her undergrad in Paris.

She says:

7

Thanks for your efforts Mr Downtown–now you can relate to what I was going through!

Kyla: I don’t think it’s Cine Archives because I’m pretty sure I would’ve remembered if that was the name, but it’s still well worth investigating. And SaxFace, that’s awesome! Definitely keep me posted–and even if it’s not the store but still one that has a ton of movie-related postcards, I’m definitely interested (and drinks will be on me).

Wow, Thanks to both for joining in the hunt!

8

Bumping, keeping my fingers crossed