Spring has sprung, and photo fair season is upon us. Simon and Garfunkel might be wondering whether you are going to Scarborough Fair. But we want to know if you are going to the one in Bièvres, south of Paris. Or maybe the cosy affair of Photographica in London this coming weekend. Both give you the chance to snag that vintage rangefinder you have been dreaming about.
We are now entering the major camera fair season, with upcoming major events in London and Bièvres, south of Paris. Both are concentrated on the sale of used camera equipment, with an emphasis on classic, vintage, and collector’s material. The Paris show also includes the sale of new camera equipment.
Photographica London
This coming weekend, on Sunday, May 19, Photographica 2024 opens its doors in a new venue. Don’t make the mistake of going to the old Royal Horticultural Hall in Vincent Square. This year, the major British fair will be at the Royal National Hotel at 38-51 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0DG. The nearest Underground station is Russell Square.
Photographica has been a long-standing favourite of Macfilos editors. There is always a good Leica presence, including Red Dot Cameras, Leica Store Manchester and classic-camera specialist Peter Loy. For the real bargains, though, it pays to be an early bird. This means forking out to enter at the same time as exhibitors. I have seen other traders snapping up bargains from exhibitors as they open the stock boxes. By noon, all the good collectibles have long since been snapped up, but there always remains a good stock of bread-and-butter cameras, lenses, and accessories.
The photo fair opens at 10am and is free for members of the organising club, the PCCGB 1Photographic Collector’s Club of Great Britain but costs £8 for others. There are provisions for early entry and for stallholders by contacting the Club on 01920 821 611 or email: info@pccgb.com. Find further information on the PCCGB website.
Bièvres Photo Fair, Paris
On June 1 and 2, collectors and camera enthusiasts from all over Europe will be flocking to the small town of Bièvres, near Versailles, southwest of Paris. The Bièvres International Photo Fair is an altogether bigger event, occupying much of the centre of the town. It dominates the small the town square. Noted for its international and eclectic nature, Bièvres is a fair you must visit at least once in a lifetime.
Bièvres is much more than a photo fair. It includes sections for new equipment and photographic exhibits, but the interest in Leica rangefinders, mainly from the M3 onwards, is intense. Again, as with Photographica in London, trade buyers are the main predators and much of the good stuff is bought in quantity early in the day. It isn’t unusual to see a buyer, perhaps even a British trader, bidding for half a dozen M6 Classics at a time. Ivor Cooper of London’s Red Dot Cameras, David Stephens of Leica Store Manchester, Peter Loy and Mike Woodford of MW Classic Cameras (see photographs) are regular attenders at Bièvres.
Ancient history
But perhaps my favourite part of Bièvres is the sheet quantity of ancient cameras, lenses and equipment going as far back as the mid-19th century. I find the massive quantities of bric-a-brac, including postcards, negatives, veteran display equipment, astounding. You can find anything you ever wanted in the world of photography at this massive event.
Traders come from all over Europe and even further afield (including many from Hong Kong, China, and Singapore) to help them fuel the demand for pre-digital film cameras. There is an electric atmosphere throughout the weekend as regular visitors meet one another again for the first time in the year. Hotels are full for miles around, and the cafés around the Bièvres town square are taken over by the dealers and class-camera enthusiasts.
Don’t burn the burger
If you are at all interested in classic cameras, and in Leica in particular, you haven’t lived until you are sampled the eclectic atmosphere of the Brièvres weekend — and downed a hot dog or burger superbly presented by the Brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Brièvres outside the local fire station.
More details of this year’s Bièvres fair can be found here.
Read more about the Bièvres camera fairs over the years
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