More than 300 Armenian books and manuscripts from the renowned Samuelian Oriental Library in Paris are going up for auction today.
Founded in 1930 by Hrant Samuelian, Librairie Orientale was, before its closing, the longest continuously functioning Armenian bookstore in the world, as well as one of the cultural gems of the Armenian diaspora.
Its astonishing collection of rare books and manuscripts holds tremendous value for Armenian culture and history.
It was run by its founder Hrant Samuelian until his death in 1977, and then by his children Armen Samuelian and Alice Aslanian until 2016, when the library was closed.
