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Beare & Son of London published a small amount of music from about 1885 until 1914.
It published some early Elgar works: Virelai, Idylle, Allegretto, and some items by James and Frank Hyde. In fact Elgar's friend Dr Charles Buck of Settle, Yorkshire, encouraged his brother-in-law John Beare to publish Une Idylle, the first work that Elgar succeeded in having published.
The firm was started by the violin dealer John Beare (1847-1928) in 1865. In 1892, he divided his business in two: Beare & Son managed by his son Walter made new violins and published music. On the other hand, his other firm dealt in high-end stringed instruments. This firm involved Edward Goodwin as a partner, and was known as Beare, Goodwin & Co, later Beare, Goodwin & Son. The son was John Beare's other son Arthur.
In the second half of the 20th century there were several changes. In 1954, Beare, Goodwin & Co. changed its name to John & Arthur Beare. Finally in 1998, the company merged with London-based violin dealers Morris and Smith. At that time
Charles Beare (b.1937) and his son Peter set up Beare Violins in Kent, and later, 2012, he sold his shares in J & A Beare to Simon Morris and Steven Smith, as he explained here. As for publishing, the current Beares Publishing is a new London based publishing house which produces books on music and violin history.
For the moment, Beare seems to have eclipsed its long-term rival in violin dealing, W.E.Hill, which contines to operate as a violin maker and repairer. One sign of this is Beare's acquisition, in 2017, of Hill's historical archives.
