Ivan Chambers
Ivan Chambers OBE (20 January 1902 – 1 January 1998) was a Bulgarian bookseller, who spent his entire career working for Bryce's bookshop in London.[1][2]
Early life
Chambers was born in 1902 in Philippopolis, Bulgaria. His father worked in the finance department of a silk-spinning factory. He moved to London, England as a child and attended St George's Roman Catholic School in Walthamstow.[1] His interest in books was prompted by an infection of polio at the age of five, which forced him to spend a lot of time lying down. This illness permanently damaged both of his arms, and also affected his confidence.[1] When he was 14, he left school and began working for an import/export business as a translator.[1]
Career
In 1925, Chambers was employed by W. J. Bryce's bookshop in Holborn, London.[2] He continued working for the bookshop when it relocated to a building owned by publisher Sir Stanley Unwin in Museum Street.[1]
During the Second World War, when business at the shop was slow, Chambers provided the British Red Cross with packages of books to send to prisoners of war.[1]
The business was later bought by Bowes and Bowes. He retired from the business in 1971. The Society of Bookmen, of which Chambers had been a member since 1936, gave a lunch in his honour at the Criterion Restaurant, which was attended by 140 colleagues and friends.[1]
Chambers grew in confidence during his career, and became a popular public speaker. He also served on the executive of the National Book Council and acted as Chairman of the London branch of the Booksellers Association.[1]
Personal life
Chambers married Kathleen Pilsbury, a painter, in 1943. They had one daughter.[2] Chambers had been baptised into the Orthodox Church as a child, but was not religious later in life.[1]
Chambers had a particular interest in writings from Scandinavia and the Orkney Islands. He was friends with George Mackay Brown, the Scottish poet.[1]
When he retired, Chambers moved to Axminster in Devon, where he volunteered at Axminster Museum. He died on New Year's Day, 1998.[1]