Guest post series - 'Filohax' No. 14 - Paul

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

Filohax Gloucester review 

Second of my recent purchases is the Gloucester.

 

First a bit of back story. 

Since reconnecting with my Filofax past, I've made it known in my friends and contacts circles that I am 'Mr Filofax', and this had bagged me an unwanted Personal Pimlico from my friend network. However, I hit the big time when a contact of a contact had an old unused and unwanted Filofax. Several very poor photos were emailed which gave nothing away, until I asked for a photo of any serial number visible on an inside cover. When I saw the serial number '6CL 7/8' I knew I had hit pay dirt, and I'm too embarrassed to say how low a fee I paid (let's just say I hit the 'bullseye' ). 

 

I realised I had a few more bonus' once I received it; the first was its almost pristine condition (save for a slight scuff on the bottom of the front cover), but the real one was realising I had purchased the working binder of a Filofax trainer from the mid 1980's, as it contained a 44 page 'Filofax Retail staff development course' punched course notes, again in mint condition. I had a bit of a chat with the now 80 year old ex trainer, but he could only recall delivering this training in high end London stores such as John Lewis and Harrods to sell 'to the yuppies '!... well it was 40 years ago!). 

 

 

Its condition was as to be expected for a binder used for a short period in the 1980's, and then stored flat in a drawer for nearly 40 years - clean-ish but dry and quite poor flatability. 

After cleaning and feeding the leather it's looking as good as new, and the rings are as good as if purchased yesterday (well, maybe not yesterday if quality standards these days are anything to go by!) 

 

As with my other recent purchase, the Argyll, the Gloucester doesn't have ring protectors and as a consequence, I've come to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of the 'ring impressions' this lack leaves in the leather. Due to the Gloucester's lack of use this isn't yet showing, but as I've moved my work inserts into the Gloucester I'm hoping that these will break in soon as I love the 'lived in look' of vintage Filofax. One major benefit I'm finding from using it for work is its lack of fastener - I use a man bag and can be pulling the Filofax in and out of it 30 times a day, so now there is no fastener to snag on the bag. 

 

The other benefit of these 'clean lines' is the lack of a pen loop - ordinarily this would pose a problem, but as I use a pen loop WITHIN the 7/8 rings there is nothing to snag on the bag as I retrieve it. A real benefit for using the Gloucester for work. I also love the authentic quality of the leather - it just feels like calf hide cut to shape and dyed, that's it, no padding or stiffening giving a very straightforward feeling. 

Do any Gloucester owners have any insights or stories to tell?