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• Issue #270
• Article

By Michael Diemar

24.39's Tabletop Photo Fair at Pavillon Wagram in Paris. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

The Paris tabletop fair, coinciding with Paris Photo, has over the years built a solid reputation among collectors, curators, gallerists and other aficionados of classic photographs. Earlier in the year, it was announced that the fair’s promoter, Bruno Tartarin, was handing over the reins to private dealer Barnabé Moinard. The handover prompted a name change, from Photo Discovery–The Fair, to 24.39, according to Barnabé, to evoke the year 1839 when photography was launched and also to be a reminder of the upcoming bicentennial of photography."

During the years when Grand Palais was being refurbished, the tabletop fair was held at Pullman Tour Eiffel to be within walking of Paris Photo, which was held in the temporary structure, Grand Palais Éphémère. With Paris Photo’s return to Grand Palais, the tabletop returned to its previous location, Pavillon Wagram.

The fair, held on three levels, brought together dealers from the European continent, the UK and the US, and was as exciting as always.

Paula and Kate Hershkowitz. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Kate Hershkowitz has joined the business of her parents Robert and Paula and presented a great selection of prints. She told me, "I brought a selection of 19th-century travel photography, European rural scenes, Victorian portraits, and some early 20th-century industrial photographs and cyanotypes. I did have a slight issue with the courier incorrectly processing my order, but thankfully it arrived just in time! As a stop-gap, I took with me some French calotypes that we had shipped separately, including some positive and negative pairs, and also a wonderful Charles Weed of Mirror Lake. The fair was brilliant, really bustling and with experienced, knowledgeable collectors as well as some that seemed newer to the field. The quality of visitors and exhibitors was high, and it was great to see some familiar faces, as well as meet new people who were enthusiastic about vintage photography. I was really pleased to be involved and would exhibit again next year for sure. Sales were good overall. The challenge is trying to second guess what might be popular as you never know what might pique someone's interest, but it's an exciting challenge, and I look forward to November 2025."

UK dealer Roland Belgrave has been a stalwart of the fair for many years: "The Paris fair is the only tabletop fair left in the calendar that is really worth attending for a serious collector. I was in the section next to Christophe Lunn, Daniel/Oliver (Daniel Moyer and Oliver Lott) and Caroline Markovic. At one point there were curators from three major US institutions, all pushing and hustling to get by! It was quite a sight!"

Belgrave reported very satisfactory financial returns: "I sold all my Adolphe Braun prints, some Pictorialist work by Alvin Langdon Coburn, travel and exploration themed photography and some ephemeral subject matter. I sold mainly to private buyers, nothing to institutional buyers, although I sold a major album to a French Museum a few days earlier. All in all, it was a great week, with some inspiring meetings, and despite some very serious health problems, I managed to plow through."

Titus Boeder and Euphemia Franklin, Maggs. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Titus Boeder and Euphemia Franklin, of Maggs Bros, London had a good fair. Boeder told me, "We brought pre-war Japanese photographs from the 1930s, the period of Geijutsu shashin), most of them by amateur photographers, most likely printed as submissions for one of the annual exhibitions of the numerous photography clubs that existed in Japan at the time. We also took photographs by Arthur Rickerby, a press photographer working for Life magazine in Japan and China just after WWII. We were delighted and indeed surprised with the number of interested private clients, curators and dealers who came to the show. It felt as if we were constantly busy and the hours flew by. Sales were ok, we were happy with the result, and we would happily do the fair again."

Daniella Dangoor presented a varied selection of works, "I brought an unusual daguerreotype of a Spahi, a French officer in Algiers, an amazing carbon print of a London Zoo elephant and keeper, a photomicrograph, all items from my collection, and I did alright. Something of a surprise as I usually do badly. The new organization was good, there was a good amount of people throughout the day though perhaps more leaflets should have been sent to galleries."

In addition to classic photography, Paris dealer Serge Plantureux also showed works by the Italian photo group "Visioni di Frontiera". Plantureux explained, "We presented the portfolios of eight members of the group from Senigallia.

From left to right: the Italian photographers and founding members of the Visioni di Frontiera group: Massimo Renzi, Enzo Carli, Serge Plantureux and Giorgio Cutini. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

"It was an opportunity to promote the photographic scene along the Adriatic coast, as well as the upcoming IV edition of the Biennale di Senigallia. The key dates, with inaugurations, workshops, and conferences, will be May 29–31, 2025. During this event, there will also be a photo fair for collectors, organized by Barnabé Moinard, following the success of this Pavillon Wagram edition. The conference will focus on the legacy of Mario Giacomelli (1925-2000), whose work placed photography in Le Marche province at the forefront of both the history of Italian photography and the representation of the regional landscape. This will be a hundred years after his birth. Additionally, there will be an exhibition exploring the mystery of the invention of photography."

Plantureux had a good fair, "Reflecting on the fair, it was an incredible moment of peaceful, bustling activity centered around the collecting of photography and celebrating materiality in the physical world. Yet, in some ways, it made me think of a "reserve" of enthusiastic people, distanced from computers and efficient technologies. Is the future already here?"

American curator/collector Robert Flynn Johnson was one of the many visitors. "The tabletop fair is always an adventure without being expensive. My favorite image was "Buba, the famous Chimpanzee juggler, Berlin" from 1930. I bought it from Roland Belgrave. An amazing image, I could not believe how good it was, and I had to have it. My most important purchase at the fair was my long sought-after favorite Edward Steichen photograph "Paul Robeson in the Emperor Jones", 1933 that I bought from Daniel/Oliver.

"My most intriguing purchase was an anonymous Surrealist photograph that was used in the 1930 Belgian Surrealist publication Varieties that I got from Serge Plantureux. I bought some other photographs as well: four Czech images, a sleeping child CDV worthy of being by Lewis Carroll, and yet another chimpanzee."

I also met Austrian collector Stefan Fiedler. "I think that Barnabé did a great job. He gave the fair a new, more modern look, although the name 24-39 needs some explanation. I hope that he can develop it into a successful brand/trademark.

"The return to Pavillon Wagram felt like coming home, although I also liked the Pullman Hotel location and I preferred the all-on-one-level situation at the Pullman. There seemed to be few visitors first thing in the morning, but it filled up after some time. Like everyone else, I love the excitement when the doors open. Someone said that it feels like 'hunting in a zoo.' And that’s how I felt!"

And Fiedler had found some treasures: "I have a limited budget for each fair and event that I try not to exceed. I bought some beautiful Autochrome plates, a couple of very nice vernacular shots from unidentified photographers, some early stereos with one of the topics I am collecting (two or more people sitting at a table in a jolly situation playing cards, drinking, eating etc.), a daguerreotype brooch (I collect photo-jewelry) and some other small examples of exotic materials and processes that I am collecting, an opalotype, funny lenticular photo booth portraits, etc. All in all, it was a good day."

A few days after the fair, I caught up with Barnabé Moinard, "I am very satisfied with how it all went. There were 50 dealers spread over three floors. Among the regular dealers, five couldn't participate this year. Conversely, six dealers participated for the first time. It confirms the interest in the fair and its importance. Following the takeover, I started promoting it in September, through a website, on Instagram, etc.; and I was pleased that the press was interested in this fair, not just "Le Journal des Arts" and "Gazette de Drouot", but also less specialized magazines like "The Good Life".

Barnabé Moinard. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Moinard was satisfied with the number of visitors, "We counted almost 1,000 visitors, arriving continuously until 5 pm. As usual, there was a very busy morning. We made statistics from the reactions of a number of exhibitors: 30% of the visitors came for the first time, and Paris Photo gallerists and curators came back."

Moinard presented an impressive group of works himself. "I had 19th century images, including some exquisite albumen prints by Hammerschmidt, as well as unusual views of Rome and classical sculptures. I also had very straight and pure architectural views from Baalbeck from the 1880's. As far as the 20th century is concerned, I had some silver prints by Chanu, a very interesting yet quite unknown French photographer from the 1940s/1950s. I also brought a curated selection of press prints by famous photojournalists, along with anonymous hand-painted prints.

"The sales were good for me, even if the visitors didn't look at the high-end prints I considered as the eye-catchers. But I sold what was unusual and striking, both 19th and 20th century. And I was pleased that 80% of the photographs I sold were photographs I liked a lot myself."

Michael Diemar is a London-based collector and consultant. He is also editor-in-chief of The Classic, a new free magazine about classic photography. He is a long-time writer about the photography scene, writing extensively for several Scandinavian photography publications, as well as for the E-Photo Newsletter and I Photo Central.