Start collecting rare books today

These collections present a package of books that follow a particular theme and are selected with the new collector in mind.
The concept was initially thought up by Ilka Rauch, the head of the Modern Literature department at Bernard J Shapero Rare Books. With a keen eye for the beginnings of a modern rare book collection and years of experience helping her customers source books for their particular collections, she felt that newcomers to the book collecting world were often put off by the complexities of the trade. One of the most difficult starting points is building a themed collection and knowing which items are likely to build the collection's overall value. Many beginners start out simply wanting to adorn a shelf with a colourful collection of rare books that symbolise their status and that capture their own life philosophies. The hardest part about building a collection like this is that it requires individually sourcing a number of books that tie up a theme.
Bernard J Shapero has provided already sourced and themed collections with an eye to catching a growing market of new book collectors starting out and trying to build their collections with as little effort as possible. PDF catalogues of the items in each collection are currently available on their website at http://www.shapero.com/ in their Modern Literature section. Current starter collections include a Science-Fiction collection, a Modern Women collection and selected works illustrated by reknowned 1940's artist John Minton.