Twenty Five years ago this year in 1996, Filofax celebrated their 75th anniversary.
To celebrate this occasion, they produced a limited edition 'Grace Scurr' organiser and presentation case. 1921 examples were apparently made, 1921 being the the first year that Filofax organisers were sold although they were not called Filofax until a few years later than that.
This limited edition as you will see is rather special. It features a Filofax duplex organiser and special inserts all contained in a wooden velvet lined presentation box.
I'm very grateful to one of our readers Shani, who spotted this one for sale on ETSY and she emailed me a link to it. The seller was located in The Netherlands, so I very quickly hit the 'order' button and then thought 'What have I just done!!'
The seller was very good answering all my questions and she packed it in multiple layers of bubble wrap and padding, so it arrived at my door in perfect condition. We will not need to buy any bubble wrap for some time!
I became aware of this limited edition several years ago through Janet's post on her blog, when she got her one. I also saw one at Filofax in Burgess Hill at our meet up there in September 2013, although I didn't get much time to study it in detail.
I have always wanted a duplex Filofax, but I've been put off by the crazy prices on Ebay and other similar sites. To get one and for it to be the limited edition Grace Scurr 75th anniversary edition is just even more special.
According to Janet's post the limited editions where original sold for £500 each in 1996 the equivalent of about £960 in today's money if you allow for inflation.
One mystery that I'm yet to solve is how these were sold. As mentioned in a previous post, Filofax didn't really have a presence on the internet until 2000, in 1996 Filofax.com was linked to a retailers site in New York. The 75th Limited Edition doesn't appear in the catalogues around about that time that we have had access to.
That is enough about the background to this limited edition, let me reveal what it looks like etc.
The presentation case with a veneered exterior with two brass engraved plaques affixed to the lid.
The main plaque features the '75' logo for 75 years with the years 1921-1996 underneath.
Unlocking the case and opening it, this is my first sight of the interior. The limited edition certificate is affixed to the velvet lining in the lid. Ribbons where holding the organiser in place.
This is the letter you can see under the ribbon with instructions to the 'retailer' Seeing this makes me consider that this example was never originally sold and possibly sat in a stock room or similar until earlier this year.
A close up of the certificate in the lid of the case. Mine is number 205 of 1921.
Carefully removing the blue tissue paper, this is the duplex Filofax, with its gold finish rings and fly leaf. Each inside cover has a single full height vertical slip pocket.
The front inside cover has the '75' logo and the years in addition to the fILOFAX and the number of the item out of the 1921 total
Whilst the back inside cover includes 'Hand Crafted in England'
Difficult to photograph, but the rings also include the '75' logo and the years 1921-1996 in the top cover of the ring mechanisms.
Underneath organiser stored in base of the case in three compartments set in to the velvet lining are three sets of inserts.
- A diary insert that covered 18 months from June 1996 to December 1997,
- A set of Notes inserts,
- A set of Address inserts.
These are all wrapped and in my case they were unopened. Each set can be lifted out by a ribbon tab that runs underneath the inserts.
The June 1996 to December 1997 week on two page diary insert with a monthly calendar in the footer together with the '75' logo in the corner.
There are Notes pages again with the '75' logo at the foot of the page.
There is a full set of A-Z index dividers to go with the Address pages each with the '75' logo
Within the organiser were the following inserts explaining the background to this special addition.
A brief history of the company and how it started back in the 1920's
How Grace Scurr saved the company during World War II when the company offices in London where bombed and everything was destroyed.
A note on the care of this special organiser.
A re-print of the 1920 London Underground map.
This duplex easily passes the 'flatability' test, it has after all been laying flat for 25 years! However to close it you need to hold it closed! I'm sure if it was used it would close eventually. There are no poppers to hold it closed.
I'm still researching the background to this special limited edition, but there are still a few unanswered questions.
For instance who made them for Filofax. The Filofax factory in Forest Road, Ilford on the outskirts of London had it's work force cut back in 1993. Is it possible that they made them in the running down of production ahead of the anniversary in 1996? Making 1921 examples would have taken several weeks.
I suspect the wooden cases where made by a subcontractor, but these were also made to a high standard as you can see from the way they have been jointed and finished.
As I indicated at the start of the post, I haven't discovered how they advertised these limited editions. As I discovered in an
earlier post. Filofax didn't have a full website until 2000.
We have catalogues that cover the period around about 1996 and it isn't mentioned in those. I can only guess that they printed a 'special catalogue' to show these off. If they did and you have a copy of it I would very much appreciate seeing some photographs of it.
This year is the 100th year which we have seen a
Centenary Collection. We have also seen how
Filofax Japan celebrated with the release of their own special editions.
Should Filofax have commissioned something a bit special to celebrate the 100 years like they did in 1996? I will let you decide the answer to that question.
This limited edition Grace Scurr will be joining other favourites in my collection. I just have to work on my wife Alison to let me have a display case somewhere in the house!!
Who else has a Grace Scurr 75 year anniversary edition? Where are the other 1920 examples now?