“If you want a thing done well, do it yourself…”
Napoleon Bonaparte
350 years is a long time. It is a particularly long time to maintain a family owned manufacturing business in the heart of Paris. Revolution, World Wars, economic downturns, trends, fashion and the internet easily take their toll. J Herbin began in 1670, originally making shellac based sealing wax good enough to be the go to for the French Royal Court in Versailles. By 1700 J Herbin was producing inks. This has now become the core of the business. In 2020, to celebrate their 350th Anniversary, several older classic ink recipes were reproduced. This is La Perle des Encres, an intense black ink. La Perle was probably their most famous ink. It was the exclusive choice of Emperor Napoleon and the author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo. This limited edition ink is hard to find. I stumbled onto this bottle in a shop on the main street of Port Elliot. #tooraretouse? #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 