Bievres, France, June 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 2000

True to form, everyone who is anyone and was in the neighborhood joined the crowds on the first Sunday in June in Bievres, France.  The affair started Thursday night according to panoramic photographer and Nikon collector Benoit Ancelot. (visit Benoit's site at www.grandlargepictures.com.) I talked to him Friday morning and he had visited Bievres the night before and had already started wheeling and dealing. His plan was to go back on Friday evening and sleep in his car both Friday and Saturday. He was sharing a stand with Jean Loupe Princelle, and another friend.

I had made up my mind to drive from my house near Limoges to Bievres, about 4 hours by the new highway. I had done it once before in 1991 when I had a camping car to sleep in. I didn't have any reservations for lodging and no camping car to count on, but I was willing to take my chances. Just in case, I put a blanket into the trunk. I also put in my poncho and thigh high waterproof boots. Bievres is not a place for the faint of heart or hydrophobic.

I was surprised that the new highway, A20 had been finished. Parts of it had been around for years, but it was finally all done, and the bits had been properly linked up. I bought a new map, and by 4 PM Friday afternoon I was off to Bievres.

I was looking forward to seeing old friends, like Eaton Lothrop, who had promised me a bag full of tiny lenses for a project I had in mind. He had sent me an email, and I was to meet him at the Fire House at 11:30 Saturday morning. The Firehouse, by the way, is a traditional landmark and meeting place at the Photo Fair in Bievres. It's also the place where you can get a snack and something to drink, and is therefore very popular.

I was also hoping to meet up with fellow IDCC members who were going to be at the show. Adrian Richmond said that he would be there as had Peter Loy. I knew that Burt Rubin usually goes and Allan Weiner (though not an IDCC member) is a regular. These two New Yorkers never fail to make the trip to France for the show. I had talked on the phone to Ralph London a few days earlier when he called me from Chartres, so I knew that he would be there. I had heard that Wayne Cogan would be there for the first time, and was looking forward to meeting him. I hadn't seen him since a Boston show about 9 years earlier.

I arrived and sorted out a hotel room for myself at about 8 PM. The sun was still well up, and I decided to take in the Friday night highlights of Bievres. I was able to park very near the show entrance, which would be an impossibility on Saturday and Sunday. Princelle and Benoit were already set-up  busy talking cameras and renewing friendships. Princelle showed me a draft copy of the new edition of his Russian camera book. He is always very thorough in his research, and the new edition has more details and photographs than the earlier book. I'd expect to see it out before Christmas.

The three of us met up with camera collector friends from Limoges and had a pleasant late meal at one of the side walk cafés in Bievres. One of the questions I had had on my mind since making the trip to Europe this Spring was "What impact has eBay (or online auctions in general) had on the European collector?" From questions that I had asked in Hamburg a week earlier, and in London two weeks before that, I was getting the feeling that the collectors outside of North America had not felt the impact that eBay seemed to be having in the USA and Canada. At dinner, someone suggested that this was maybe because the USA had so many Camera Fairs that people got tired of going. hat being the case, on line auctions offered an alternative to buyers and sellers. In Europe, on the other hand, fairs are not so numerous, and some, like Bievres, take place only once a year. Someone else said that the language barrier in addition to and local traditions, rules and regulations had stopped eBay from becoming a major influence, and they doubted that it would ever have the impact in Europe that it has had on shows in the USA. (See the Hamburg Show report for more information on this topic)

Saturday bright and early I was at Bievres, and parked in the train station. Traditionally, Saturday is the "collectors'" day. Many of the tables which had been set up by the organizers had yet to be occupied. One large covered section was reserved for Sunday by a chain of camera stores. The weather was perfect. Warm without being hot, and no rain insight. If I had a complaint it would be that it was too humid, but after Hong Kong anyplace which is less than 95% humidity seems dry. For me saturday was the day to meet and talk to people, and take a broad look at how the show was shaping up. I saw many of the same faces that I had seen the year before. Some dealers had been at the London show, many from Germany had been at the Hamburg show. A few had been at both shows. This gave me a chance to see what was staying on their tables. In particular, a dealer from Nurnberg (I accused him of being Russian, and then Polish because of the language being used at his table, but he assured me that he was from Nurnberg) had a table full of Russian/Soviet era cameras and equipment. The F21 film splitter that I had seen in Hamburg for US$450 was still available (and would remain available up until I left Sunday afternoon)

I'd venture to say that there were fewer brass and wood cameras than I had seen in the past, and more "modern" classics. One surprise was My. Muller who had a Williamson aerial camera in it's wooden box with all the attachments. I had bought one in London last year, and had never seen or heard of another one. His was serial number 1086, and mine is 1013. I envied him all the extra little goodies he had with his outfit, but at Ffr5000 (US$700) I wasn't about to buy another one. I had paid GBP175 for mine (US$250) the year before.

I was able to find a Retinette f model for IDCC member Chris in New Zealand. There were five for sale scattered around that I saw, (three first model, two second model) but the one I bought was in the best cosmetic shape. Every one of them had a mechanical defect, and 4 of the 5 had very bad front metal oxidation. I paid Ffr200 (US$28) and expect that Chris will have fun fixing the shutter.
 

Jim McKeown was there without his lovely wife Joan. It seems that ever Francophile Jim and spouse were bike riding in la belle France when Joan went f stop over viewfinder. She was scraped up and bruised, but it seems that there was no serious damage. The bike riding had done wonders for Jim's thighs, a point which I made, and which seemed to give him a chuckle. He then asked me if I had a roll of 120 film in my pocket or if I really thought his thighs were nice.... That's Jim, always the joker...  THE book will be out later this year, sometime after his trip to China.

I bumped into Eaton Lothrop and Ralph London with his wife Bobbi while making the rounds, thereby  canceling the need to meet at the fire house. Eaton turned over the lenses which he had promised me, and while we were chatting, several more people stopped. Eaton opened his bag each time and out came some mysterious parcel. If we had been in New York the police would have pulled us all in for questioning...... The Londons agreed to meet at Burt's table for an IDCC picture later. Just afterwards, Wayne Cogan wandered by, and I grabbed him for the meeting for the picture too. Adrian Richmond was no where to be found, though I knew he was at  Bievres as I had seen him the night before. He was probably off talking Japanese with friends somewhere. The same with Peter Loy. He was nowhere around. Bernard Plazonnet was supposed to come, and in a phone call to him on Sunday night it seems that he was there, but somehow we missed each other.

The resulting IDCC picture , though only containing 4 of us, is something one might use to frighten small children. In order of appearance, Burt Rubin, Wayne Cogan, Ralph London and Me. Thanks to Bobbi London for taking the picture.

Heinfried Schmidt from Hamburg had a few very interesting movie cameras on his table, but by the time I got around to taking pictures, the best ones had disappeared. This Nizo was in super condition, and I have no doubt it found a good home before the weekend was over.

One surprise, I must add, was the complete Williamson type 134 aerial camera outfit on Mr. Muller's table. I had bought the same model camera in England the year before, and had never seen another one. Here at Bievres was a complete outfit! His Ffr5000 (US$700) asking price was a bit high I think, but it was a complete outfit. I had turned down Ffr3000 for mine earlier in the day. His serial number was 1086 and mine is 1013. I paid GBP 175 (US$275) when I bought it at "Peter Pan" in Portsmouth. The camera comes with 4 inch (100 mm) f1.8 (!) and 12 inch (400 mm) f4 coated lenses. It has a rotary shutter and uses 70 mm film to make 6x6cm frames. The lenses are fixed focus at infinity. I'm tempted to try to use them on a focal plane shutter medium format camera sometime.

Saturday ended with me having dinner with friends from Limoges. It was their first time coming to Bievres, and they were all three very impressed with the number and quality of cameras on display. I'll bet they make it an annual pilgrimage now. I've been invited to their June club meeting on the 23rd. I'll write something up about it and make a small report with pictures. Sometimes we tend to forget the small dedicated collecting clubs out there in the big bad world. Especially those clubs which don't speak our language. Or should I say that we don't speak their language. Other than Jim McKeown, there were not too many "Norde Americanos" who were trying to get by with German or French. The Europeans, on the other hand, always had English to fall back on. Just a bit of trivia. Most Europeans who finish high school will have had 7 years of English.

Sunday I was not able to find a parking place in town, and had to make a 15 minute walk in the countryside. I was not alone. Bievres had filled up, and it was still a few minutes before 8 AM. Now all the stands were filled, and people without table space were displaying their wares on the ground. Thankfully the weather was holding. There are few things more slippery in life than the Bievres fair in the rain. Mind you, people still turn up in droves. It is much more fun, however, when the sun shines, and the quagmire doesn't happen.

From the dealers (full time dealers) that I spoke to, it seemed that asking prices on tables were "retail" and they were not able to buy much for resale. On the other hand, some traders were able to make purchases from private individuals who came to the fair just to sell a piece or two. No surprises really, really good pieces sold if the price was right. One table had lots of high priced interesting stuff, including a Compur Leica. The seller had very high prices, and when asked why he replied, "I really don't want to sell anything, but if someone is willing to pay my price, I'll be happy with the money."

Both usable and collectible (a fine line sometimes) Stereo cameras seemed to be going up in price, atleast the asking prices were up. I didn't see or hear of any sold, so I'll have to keep an eye on this. One very rare Russian Stereo camera came out of the woodwork. I had only seen it before in Princelle's book.The lack of wood and brass (with minor exception from specialized dealers) was evident, and the asking prices showed a rise from what I've been used to.

All in all, it was one of the best Bievres fairs I have attended. Not only because of the weather, but also because of the bountiful supply of friends and acquaintances I was able to find there. The only regrets I have are waiting until Sunday to make an offer on a Linhof copy stand. It was sold late Saturday night.... I also wasn't fast enough when I saw a Video tape (90 minutes!) on the history of Exakta. By the time I turned around it had been bought, and was no where in sight. (Has anyone ever seen this video before?) This only goes to prove that "He who hesitates is lost." I settled for a Pentax medium format copy stand which I blought on the way out. I did save about US$200 over the Linhof stand...:-) Otherwise, my purchases were of photographic paper and 4x5 black and white film for use over this Summer. Close dated film and paper was not in short supply. I heard some photographers talking who had driven half way across France just to stock up for the next year.
 

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