Dear readers, I’m skeptical I’ll ever find an earthly paradise, but if one exists, I have to believe it resembles the Atelier Devauchelle, where a group of female artisans painstakingly cares for antique books. At this Paris workshop, there’s an expert in gauffering — which, despite the pleasing images of Belgian waffles it inspires, refers to the process of repairing gold lines on leather book covers. One employee focuses on binding and embossing, summoning a surgeon’s focus to sew together pages with linen thread. Yet another specializes in paper restoration, bringing old manuscripts brilliantly back to life. I’m not even a rare book fetishist! But it’s impossible to gaze upon these scenes without aching for a peaceful atmosphere insulated from the hubbub of city life. (Look at the article on your phone or tablet if you can; it’s particularly eye-popping on those devices.) We’ll be observing the July 4 holiday on Friday — I plan to be curled up in an Adirondack chair with a limeade and “Middlemarch” — so I’ll see you next week. In other news
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