Vintage non-branded organiser - by Anita

Due to family commitments, I haven't had much spare time for a while, so consequently I now have a backlog of posts to write!

I rarely visit eBay these days, but I did have a bit of a nose last year and managed to pick up this little non-branded bargain and was surprised that there were no other bids. And as some of you might know, I have a liking for red binders...  

When it arrived, it was clear to me that it needed a good clean and the leather definitely appreciated a good coating of Lord Sheraton leather balsam. The leather is good quality and has a nice smooth finish in this lovely bright red colour. 

There is no brand name, but inside it says 'Genuine leather, made in England'. It doesn't have Krause rings, but they open and close with a healthy snap. Whilst it's not a Filofax, I tend to call it a 'Winchester-alike' as you can see that the design is quite similar. Like the Winchesters, it has also lost the popper cover on top. 

Inside on the left, there is is one full length slip pocket, with a further two shorter pockets. On the right, there is a full length gusseted pocket with a small pen loop.  

I've previously owned a couple of Winchesters, but have sold them as ultimately I'm not a fan of the harder leather. As you can see from the photo below, this leather is much more supple and will easily bend back on itself, without causing any issues. 

As I normally do, I asked the eBay seller if they knew anything about its history and she confirmed that she'd bought a couple of these leather binders from a secondhand stall at a show about 20 years ago. When it arrived, it had some old non-branded inserts and a Filofax ruled dated 1989. 

In comparison with my Kensington - squarer spine, like the Winchesters tend to have:

It's a wonderful binder, which potentially could've been a prototype or just a copycat design made by an English company. Considering its age, it looks like either the leather is quite hardwearing or it's not had much use over the years.