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.<ref name=IndObit/>
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.<ref name=IndObit/> 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.<ref nameIndObit/> When he was 14, he left school and began working for an import/export business as a translator.<ref nameIndObit/>
Career
In 1925, Chambers was employed by W. J. Bryce's bookshop in Holborn, London. He continued working for the bookshop when it relocated to a building owned by publisher Sir Stanley Unwin in Museum Street.<ref name=IndObit/>
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.<ref name=IndObit/>
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.<ref name=IndObit/>
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.<ref name=IndObit/>
Personal life
Chambers married Kathleen Pilsbury, a painter, in 1943. They had one daughter. Chambers had been baptised into the Orthodox Church as a child, but was not religious later in life.<ref name=IndObit/>
Chambers had a particular interest in writings from Scandinavia and the Orkney Islands. He was friends with George Mackay Brown, the Scottish poet.<ref name=IndObit/>
When he retired, Chambers moved to Axminster in Devon, where he volunteered at Axminster Museum. He died on New Year's Day, 1998.<ref name=IndObit/>

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