Joseph Octave Delepierre

His father was Joseph Delepierre, for many years receveur-général of the province of West Flanders; his mother was of the Penaranda family.

[1] A collector of books and works of art, Delepierre's reputation as a local antiquary attracted visitors from abroad.

He had made the acquaintance of Sylvain Van de Weyer, who induced him in 1843 to come to London, in August 1849 appointed him a secretary of legation, and obtained for him the post of Belgian consul.

[1] Living in England, Delepierre wrote an account in 1849 of a collection of early French farces and morality plays in the British Museum.

[1] When the Duc d'Aumale, Van de Weyer, Richard Monckton Milnes, and others founded the Philobiblon Society in 1853 (then limited to 36 members), Delepierre was appointed one of the honorary secretaries.

He printed a history of Flemish literature in 1860;[2] the first volume, in 1863, of a collection (completed in 1876) of his friend Van de Weyer's writings.