"Lead soldier shops in Paris?" Topic

Hi does anyone know if there are any good Napoleonic bookshops in Paris or lead soldier shops? I am visiting frequently and it would be nice to squeeze in a few visits

Livre Chez Vous for a bookshop is very good.
lelivrechezvous.com
It is not too far from les Invalides. The road it is on is a bit of a side street but don't be put off that you are in the wrong place!

I was there a few weeks ago and some things to consider:

- The majority of books are in French. There are 2-3 bays in English in which I found some gems. But lots is just not useful – even if you can read a bit. Great titles but stuff I'll never get to read cover to cover.

- The dollar is so poor that had I just ordered them off Amazon UK I would have saved a bundle. They were British imports so marked up accordingly. I bought'em anyways.

- When I went, the gal there didn't speak much English. Make sure you can ask how much things are (Combien est-ceci? is one way) as many books weren't priced.

Don't let me discourage you – it's worth seeing once. I personally wouldn't go again unless I'd just won the lottery. But there are some prints and that kind of thing too but they seemed overpriced given the weak dollar. There wasn't anything in English I couldn't get in the UK for cheaper.

I didn't find/see any hobby shops like you'd see in the US and even the bookstore at Invalides was kinda weak.

If you read French, disregard the above and enjoy! It's a bonanza for the fluent.

[edit .. just saw the OP is from UK ..don't know what the exchange rate is for UK'ers – maybe its a bargain for you]

The best place I have been to is the arcade just across from the Louvre at "Le Louvre des Antiquaires" at 2 Place de Palais Royale: link

You will find a bunch of quite highly-priced antique dealers (which is probably what you would expect in the middle of Paris anyway), but with a load of stuff you would take out a second mortgage for.

Cuirassier breastplates from Waterloo, drill manuals, contemporary prints etc.

Well worth a look, although perhaps avoid using your high-school French.

I tried it with one of the shop-owners in a discussion about a Dragoon helmet, and was trying to make the point that people were smaller in stature two hundred years ago.

Unfortunately he interpreted it to mean that I was trying to say that all Frenchmen have small heads. He wasn't very impressed and asked me to leave.

C'est la vie…

many thanks chaps

Hi.
There is a nice lead soldiers shop near Saint Sulpice church : AU PLAT D'ETAIN, 16, Rue Guisarde 75006 Paris.
auplatdetain.com/default.aspx
I think it's one of the oldest in Paris.
You can find some books in French and in English at Armes et Collections 8, rue de Crussol 75011 Paris, near the Place de la République.
link