Provenance & Security in the Rare Book Trade: ILAB announces Symposium in Paris - Register Now!

ILAB invites again antiquarian booksellers, librarians, collectors and anyone handling antiquarian material to a symposium, this year taking place in Paris to discuss pressing topics surrounding provenance, restitution and the conservation of our written heritage.
What are the challenges the antiquarian book trade faces today in terms of protecting cultural heritage? How can booksellers, librarians and anyone dealing with antiquarian material gain a better understanding of today’s market requirements?

ILAB SYMPOSIUM PARIS 2024: Libraries, Booksellers and Collectors discuss Provenance, Restitution and the Conservation of our Written Heritage
12 June 2024 - 1.30pm - 6pm
INHA Auditorium
Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art - La Bibliothèque Nationale de France
2, rue Vivienne, 75002, Paris

The Paris symposium will follow those in New York (Grolier Club) in 2019 and in Oxford (Bodleian Library) in 2022. It will once again bring together an international panel of experts to address these crucial issues and shed light on some of the realities of the rare book trade:

The symposium is organised to encourage cooperation between all the players in the market, prior to the Salon du Livre Rare Paris 2024 at the Carreau du Temple.

The event, organised and sponsored by ILAB and supported by the Syndicat National de la Librairie Ancienne (SLAM), will be followed by a networking reception at the INHA.
The symposium will be held in English and French, simultaneous translation is provided for each participant by headphone if required.

Participation is free, but registration is required.

Please contact the ILAB Secretariat to book your seat: secretariat@ilab.org

In conjunction with the symposium, a guided tour of the BNF’s newly renovated reading rooms will be organised for a limited number of people on Thursday 13 June. Booking is also compulsory.

A first outlook of the programme - the full programme will be released shortly:

SESSION 1: Due Diligence vs. the Realities of the rare book trade

Provenance research, which aims to trace the history of a book and its owners, has always been an essential task for rare booksellers. But the tasks are evolving: New requirements - legal, institutional and public - are increasingly demanding of booksellers. What are the challenges booksellers and libraries are facing today? Are the new demands on provenance always justified and proportionate? How can we find a balance that meets everyone’s needs?

A selection of panelists:
Dr. Markus Brandis, Bassenge Kunst-, Buch- & Fotoauktionen, Berlin
Ariane Adeline, Livres Anciens Ariane Adeline, Paris
Jean Marc Chatelain, Director of Special Collections & Rare Books of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Pierre Jean Riamond, Head of Special Collections Department at the Book and Reading Service, Ministry of Culture of France, Paris
Dr. Mario Giupponi, Studio Benacense, Riva (Italy) and President of ILAB
Jean Marc Dechaud, Librairie Ancienne Jean-Marc Dechaud, Crissay sur Manse & President of SLAM

Followed by a Round Table

SESSION 2: Safeguarding our written heritage

Rare books and manuscripts are invaluable repositories of our knowledge and history, and they display unique qualities of artistry and craftsmanship that illustrate the evolution of printing, binding, art and literature over time. They deserve to be appreciated, but also protected. This session will bring together high-level experts to discuss the issues of theft, fraud and forgery and the rare book trade’s strong stance against such behaviour, and will open a forum for debate on security and the protection of our written heritage.

A selection of panelists:
Joseph Hone, Presentation by the author of the book "The Book Forger" recently launched in the United Kingdom
Isabelle Rouge Ducos, Head Curator, Researcher at the Mission for the Research and Restitution of Cultural Property Looted between 1933 and 1945, French Ministry of Culture
Representative of UNESCO
Prof. Françoise Labarthe, Institut Art & Droit
Angus O’Neill, Omega Bookshop, London & ILAB VicePresident and Security Officer
Anne Lamort, Anne Lamort Livres Anciens, Paris

Followed by a Round Table

Image above: Venue of the 2024 ILAB Symposium, the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (INHA) - La Bibliothèque Nationale de France