Books have always fascinated Tom Hopman. He read a lot and worked part time at the local library during his studies. After studying history and philosophy, with plenty of required reading, he wanted to continue working with books. De Slegte bookshop offered the solution: Tom worked there happily for 13 years as supervisor of the antiquarian section. Every day was spent buying and selling, carrying out appraisals and writing descriptions for the online catalogue.

Tom thinks that in many ways working as an auctioneer is similar to his old job. He is still surprised every day by the books he comes across, this time via his internet connection. His appraisal and trading insights are constantly put to good use. Tom likes to maintain good relationships with his sellers in order to get the description and presentation just right for the auction - and, of course, to get a good price. He is never happier than when it all comes together, with a good auction as the end result.

• Worked for 13 years at an antiquarian bookshop
• Studied History
• Was a manager of a large online book catalogue