Bernard Shapero

Bernard John Shapero (born August 1963) is a British dealer in antiquarian rare books and works on paper, the founder of Shapero Rare Books of 32 St. George Street, Mayfair, London, a Georgian townhouse opposite the auctioneers Sotheby's.[1] In 2005, Slate called him "London's most successful rare-book dealer and arguably the top dealer in the world today".[2]

Bernard Shapero
BornAugust 1963 (age 56)
London
NationalityBritish
EducationHighgate School
OccupationRare book dealer
Spouse(s)Emma Lewis
ChildrenLouis, Clara and Hugo

Early life

Bernard John Shapero was born in August 1963,[3] and started dealing in books in the late 1970s, while still a pupil at Highgate School.[4][5] His father was a collector of armour and gold coins.[2]

Career

In October 2005, Shapero purchased the Doria Atlas for £1.46 million, the highest price ever paid for an atlas, although this record was surpassed by the Cosmographia the following year.[6] In April 2004, the atlas had been saved from a fire at Wardington Manor in Oxfordshire, when local residents formed a human chain to remove items from the library.[7]

Shapero Rare Books owned about 6,000 books, ranging in price from £50 to over £200,000, and £6,000 on average. The business was sold by Shapero to Philip Blackwell, a director of the family business Blackwell Publishing, which had been sold to the US John Wiley & Sons in 2007 for £572 million to become Wiley-Blackwell.[8]

In 2012, Shapero bought Dutch businessman Joost Ritman's collection of 300 old religious books and 60 manuscripts for €9.5million, with finance coming from a Ukrainian oligarch.[8]

Personal life

Shapero lives in Hampstead, London, in a house which is half Victorian and half an "ultra-modern" extension,[1] with his wife Emma Lewis, and their three children: Louis, Clara and Hugo.[9]

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References
  1. "The modern Hampstead pad of rare-book seller Bernard Shapero". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  2. Weisberg, Jacob (7 November 2005). "Book Hunting in Britain". Slate. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  3. "Bernard John SHAPERO – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  4. "Mr. Bernard Shapero". london-wealth.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  5. "News – Highgate School". highgateschool.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  6. Milmo, Cahal (6 October 2006). "Atlas favoured by Columbus goes on sale for £1 million". Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  7. Bennett, Will (31 May 2005). "Rare atlases snatched from fire". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  8. "MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Rare book dealer Scholium plans float to buy fine collections | This is Money". Daily Mail. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  9. "Sheila Markham Rare Books". sheila-markham.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
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