About Us
Messrs Berkelouw are Australia's largest and most
established rare, out-of-print, secondhand and new booksellers.
For six generations, the Berkelouw family has traded in rare and
antiquarian books.
Our entire stock comprises of over 800,000 titles, of which 40,000
are rare and collectible. Some of the rare and collectible books can be
viewed by clicking on Search.
We have four outlets in Australia, and one outlet in Los Angeles.
Berkelouw Headquarters is located on the 'Bendooley' property, just
outside the historic town of Berrima in the Southern Highlands of
NSW.
'Bendooley' houses the Book
Barn which contains over 300, 000 secondhand books and a
cafe. It is also home to the Rare
Book Department which is the heart of the Berkelouw operation.
In Sydney, retail stores are located at Paddington and
Leichhardt
Books are our passion as well as our business, and it is always
a pleasure to meet customers who share our love of reading. Please
come in, meet with friends, soak up the atmosphere, and spend as
much time as you like browsing through our collections.
Assuring you of our services at all times,
we remain
Messrs Berkelouw.
Our History
The
story of Messrs Berkelouw, Antiquarian Bookdealers, begins in Kipstraat,
Rotterdam, Holland, in 1812, with Solomon Berkelouw. Solomon traded in
vellum-bound theology books, which were en vogue in the early nineteenth
century. Publishers of the period were certain of selling publications
as long as they dealt with theology. Solomon peddled his wares on Rotterdam
Quay, and his clients were mainly owners and skippers of the barques that
brought grain and other agricultural products from the provinces of Zealand
and Zuid Holland to Rotterdam. The owners of barques were well to do citizens
with a growing interest in education.
Not much is known of Solomon Berkelouw, except that his bookselling
career came to a sudden and unfortunate end. On a late winter's
afternoon, with snow falling thickly all around, Solomon attempted
to cross an icy plank that connected a customer's ship to the wharf.
Halfway up, he lost his footing and fell into the freezing water.
Before anyone could fetch help he was drowned, his jute-bag full
of books sinking with him to the bottom of the icy harbour.
Solomon's
young son Carel was determined to carry on his father's trade. He put
the business on more stable footing by opening a bookstore at the Niewe
Market in Rotterdam. Under Carel's direction, Berkelouw prospered, and
he later moved to larger premises at Beurs Station, also in Rotterdam.
Carel's ambitious son Hartog Berkelouw continued to expand the
family business. After serving an apprenticeship with his father
in the Beurs Station store, he opened a new shop at Schoolstraat,
Rotterdam. It was Hartog who first began issuing the catalogues
that gained Berkelouw an international reputation. In 1928, the
firm was granted membership to the prestigious International Antiquarian
Booksellers Association. Business subsequently increased, and Hartog's
children - Sientje, Leo, Carel and Isidoor - all became involved
in the book trade.
However, the Second World War intervened, introducing a dark chapter
into the history of the Berkelouw family. During the siege of Rotterdam,
Berkelouw's premises were bombed and its stock destroyed. Amongst
the lost books was a collection of antique bibles thought to be
the most valuable in all of Europe. Further tragedy followed - Sientje
and Carel became casualties of the war. As Leo had left the firm
many years earlier, the once-thriving business was brought to a
standstill, the work of four generations of Rotterdam booksellers
virtually wiped out in just a few years.
Immediately after the war, Isidoor Berkelouw began to re-establish
the firm. He set up business in Amsterdam and began conducting successful
book auctions. However, Isidoor was keen to move the business out
of Europe - the Berkelouw collection had already been destroyed
once, and he did not want to see it happen again. So in 1948, Isidoor
liquidated his company and made the long journey to Sydney, Australia.
Shortly
after arriving in Australia, Isidoor issued a catalogue, generating immediate
interest amongst book collectors around the country. He set up shop at
38 King St, Sydney, and conducted book auctions on a regular basis. As
Bereklouw's clientele and stock expanded, headquarters was relocated to
114 King St, and Isidoor began to share the management of the store with
his two sons, Henry and Leo. By 1972, the Berkelouw collection had grown
to such a size that it was forced to change premises once again. The firm
made a brief move to Rushcutters Bay, then in 1977 took a quantum leap,
relocating entirely to the 'Bendooley' property just outside the historic
town of Berrima, in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
Today Messrs Berkelouw is Australia's largest Antiquarian and second-hand
bookseller. Operating stores in Berrima, Sydney, and Los Angeles,
it has an overall stock in excess of 800,000 books, many
of which are listed here on the Internet. The long association of
Berkelouw and books has continued into a sixth generation of booksellers.
Back to Berkelouw
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