Hans Bank

Shown above are a pair of mid-20th-Century Hans Bank writing pads, in ‘Duke’ size, as once sold by Harrods department store. ‘Bank’ in this case refers the the paper being thin and lightweight (ca. 50 gsm or less), while Hans St. is a Knightsbridge thoroughfare running alongside the store.

A 1912 Harrods catalogue shows they were already selling a line by that name before WWI, as a cheaper ‘Bank’ option, with Lowndes Bank (also named after a nearby street), being the costlier choice. The Hans brand was still in use at the outbreak of WWII, and there’s every chance it was stocked anew after the war.

Via ebay I bought a part-filled box containing eight or nine of the dozen pads it would once have held. It took me a few years, but I used every last sheet of the stuff.