Bruno Petitcollot Collection: An Inspiration to Travel

With his heavy stubble, tanned complexion, husky voice, and relaxed gait, Bruno Petitcollot hardly fit the image of the expert you expect to meet at the Hôtel Drouot. This seeming old sea dog was eminently friendly, and you just had to see him on a restaurant patio in the neighborhood to understand how he truly relished life. A few days before his death on October 30 at the age of 72, he was sharing lobster, oysters and shrimp with his brother. It is often said that law studies set you up for anything; his own led him to the care of disabled children in the Paris region. Then chance intervenes, sometimes provoked as much as imposed. "The trade just grabbed us, as it did our father, who a few years before he retired realized what he had always wanted to do, and opened a store selling marine objects in Rue de Seine," says Jean-Yves Petitcollot, Bruno's younger sibling. Seeing how fascinating the business could…