Bit by Fleas

When Colorado antique dealer Stuart Hough made his first buying trip to France in 1981 in search of French country pieces, his first stop was the marché aux puces, the legendary flea market in northern Paris.

Hough had been told that the puces was where all the serious dealers shopped, but nothing had prepared him for the maze of markets, the trove of treasures or the cast of characters that populated the 20 acres comprising the world1s largest antique mart. As he wandered through the 13 different markets and browsed the numerous stalls, his dream began to take shape. Then at 8 o'clock one Friday morning, standing elbow to elbow with furniture movers drinking cognac, he decided this was where he belonged. After owning antique stores in Aspen, Vail and Chicago and making more than 50 buying trips to France, Hough eventually moved his family toParis. In 1995, he bought a stand in the Marché Serpette and became the first American marchand aux puces. Then in 1998, he sold his stand and opened William Stuart Antiques on an adjacent street.

Hough's gregarious wife, Pamela, often accompanied her husband to work, practicing her French with the merchants and shoppers. She empathized with the foreign tourists who tried, usually unsuccessfully, to make sense out of the labyrinth of streets and stands. I'd see these couples standing on a corner trying to figure out a map they'd ripped out of a magazine, she recalls. They were totally lost.

Since no book had been devoted exclusively to the Grande Dame of flea markets, the Houghs decided to write one. But, they admit, Bit by the Fleas (Vilo, 2002) is anything but a comprehensive and objective guide. There's a strong prejudice toward the Serpette and Paul-Bert markets, explains Stuart, because they are universally recognized as being the top professional ones. Readers soon learn that the puces isn't a flea market in the American sense; it's where antique dealers find their stock, which means that prices are one-third or even half what they would be stateside. But the Houghs also recommend stands throughout the puces - everything from vintage clothing to toys - plus restaurants and bistros.

Other chapters indicate where to find an ATM or a bathroom and how to tell a bergère from a buffet.

U.S. interest in antiques is so strong that the Houghs now offer buying trips to private clients, plan to launch a Web site and are contemplating a series of books on antique shopping by region. "Americans come here to furnish entire homes," says Pamela. "We want to share with them a lot of what we've learned about this tremendously rich subject."