In the digital age, a simple pleasure persists: inhaling the sweet smell of a book, whether old or new. This is the story of a walk among old printing machines and boxes filled with books. A story that leads to an archive room crammed with little-known photography books. The place is the headquarters of Atlantica-Séguier publishing in Biarritz, France, recently purchased by Jean Le Gall, the business lawyer and amateur writer, who left behind his comfortable position in New York to pursue his love of literature. By taking over the publishing house, which recently released Christian Caujolle’s Photo Nouvelle, Le Gall hopes to give it a second wind.

One summer afternoon, we browsed the rows of photography books published by the company’s former owner. One one side there are titles that aren’t worth a second glance, but on the other we (re)discover works that every photography fan would enjoy flipping through. Most received little notice upon their release, even in the Basque country where they were mainly distributed.

Jonas Cuénin

Read the full text of this article on the French version of Le Journal.