Guest post series - 'Filohax' No.9 - Paul

Thanks very much again to Paul for this ninth instalment of his wonderful guest post series. You can find all of the 'Filofhax' posts here.

 

Balmoral 10 CLFJ 5/4

After spotting a new eBay Filofax for sale, there was something unusual about the nondescript black smudge of a thumbnail image on my smartphone that made me sit up and take notice - it had no strap and its right hand edge was not open... and it didn't have the rounded profile of a zipped binder. A quick check confirmed it was a 'back in the day' flagship of the Filofax range a 10 CLFJ 5/4 Balmoral (not to be confused with the Balmoral personal - the name has been used twice by Filofax as a model name, as discussed in Alan's guest post) 

It wasn't in an auction, which meant that time was of the essence as anyone seeing, and wanting to buy this, could buy at asking price and whisk it away from me. A quick peruse of the images showed that it had had an active life, with wear to the top and bottom edges (from being pulled off and onto a shelf maybe), and the big 5/4 rings weren't 100% all in line, but for the price (sub £100) I made my bid. I'm always more interested in binders with a good patina, and my intention for it is to house the second installment of my 'Life in a Filofax' scrapbook project anyway, rather than being a EDC (every day carry). 

After placing my bid, I contacted the seller - I always like to find out as much about a binder's provenance as I can, and this one had lived a bit! The one and only original owner had bought it from Selfridges London in 1984 after leaving a safe five year career with BP to enter the London fashion industry at the start of the Yuppie era. International travel to France, Italy Germany, Sweden, New York etc. at “fashion week” trade shows meant that this binder was far more travelled than I am ever likely to be, and further fuelled my interest in the Balmoral. Thankfully this bit of discourse also got me a discount on asking price, as I had shared my intentions for it to have a useful second life. 

After asking the group and receiving useful advice on sprucing my new 'King' up (I like to give my binders nicknames!) I'm ready to share him with the group. Shown here with its original section and A to Z dividers, it was decorated by the original owner with mementos from her fashion show trips, and they show 'lived in' edges to the card, just how I like them!

I almost forgot, the Balmoral came in the most exquisite packaging I've ever had from a seller!

Thanks very much again to Paul for this ninth instalment of his wonderful guest post series. You can find all of the 'Filofhax' posts here.