SIR,—Leslie Adrian raises my blood pressure to a dangerous level
in his closing sentence last week, referring to one of the most respectable and oldest trades that exist—the Stationery Trade! I would like to lead Mr. Adrian towards a copy of the Retail Stationer's Handbook, edited by Leonard Pagliero:
No trade, not even the booksellers, can claim a closer identity with the development of civilisa- tion, for essentially the Stationer provided the paper, the pens, the writing fluid for the produc- tion of the book. . . . The stationer sells paper. The bookseller deals only in printed books, ready bound. And the bookbinder binds them and sells not. But all three are of the Worshipful Company of Stationers.
Many leading citizens of London and other cities have been drawn from the ranks of Stationers, in- cluding one recent Lord Mayor of London.—Yours
faithfully, O. EGGLETON 5 Curzon Road, A 1 uswell Hill, NW [Leslie Adrian writes: The Stationers have a long and notable history, and [ did not intend to disparage them in my article. I merely stated that the mark of a good specialised bookshop is that it concentrates on the one commodity—books.'—Editor, Spectator.]
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