Why it belongs in ORBIS
Paris bookshop dating to 1708 near the Palais-Royal; relocated to 155 rue Saint-Honore in 1906 after a fire, owned by Gallimard since 1986. About 25,000 titles across literature, art and history in a 90 sqm space.
Librairie Delamain traces its origins to 1708, when it was established at the Palais-Royal by Andre Cailleau, making it one of the oldest bookshops in Paris still operating. A fire at the neighboring Comedie-Francaise theater forced a move in 1906 to its current address at 155 rue Saint-Honore. The shop has been owned by publishing house Gallimard since 1986. Within its compact 90-square-meter space, Delamain stocks roughly 25,000 titles spanning literature, art, history, science and the humanities. The shop has literary associations dating back generations: writers including Guy de Maupassant and Michel Foucault are recorded as having frequented it.