Literature & History

As the publishing & art world finally become more gender inclusive, we celebrate some of the famous women writers and artists who have enriched both.

Books have been banned for a variety of reasons over the centuries, ranging from racism, anti-religious sentiment, immorality, indecency, perceived drug advocacy or simply the ‘portrayal of exclusively middle class rabbits’…

Author Dame Iris Murdoch was born on this day in 1919, we delved back into the Rare Book Review archives and retrieved this article, originally published in July 2003…

Splendidly rendered in bronze, Millicent Fawcett now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Winston Churchill & Mahatma Gandhi outside the Palace of Westminster…

One of the most internationally celebrated fictional characters of all time, James Bond first editions are as enduring & alluring to collectors as the character himself…

In honour of the famous creator of Rumpole of the Bailey, born on this day in 1923, we republish in full for the first time the interview with Sir John Mortimer, CBE, QC, from the Rare Book Review magazine. 

The following text has been written by Dr Bob Miller, and represents the research he kindly undertook on behalf of Shapero Rare Books in exploring the history of the Album Amicorum

In honour of Banned Books Week 2017, Shapero Rare Books takes a look at some of the titles you may never have realised were banned…

The strictest period of banned books in Russia began in 1934 when Zhdanov instructed the First Congress of Soviet Writers that their work should ‘depict reality in its revolutionary development’…

First and early editions of children’s books can be immensely valuable, but only if they are in the right condition