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Hi everyone, I'm a new registered member on the forum, although I have been reading anonymously for quite some time now. After searching high and low for years, I thought I'd ask if anyone here has been able to find the blue or white Elco Atlantic Clipper airmail paper (writing pad) lately? I know it is (sadly!) not produced any longer, and my stock has run out. If someone has seen this in a store, or has "overstock" they are willing to sell, I would be more than grateful to hear from you. Alternatively, if you know of another similar paper (unruled, thin and silky "airmail" paper, preferably A4), I'd also be interested. I have been writing on this paper for most of my life, and have yet to find another paper that compares to it. I know there is a growing chance that this paper is not sold or found anywhere anymore, but I thought I'd ask - just in case. I live in Scandinavia, so any physical stores in Denmark, Sweden or Finland would be of interest; but I'd be willing to order from anywhere, of course, as long as they deliver overseas. A big thank you for any advice!

I picked up a A5 unlined Elco Prestige pad when in Switzerland recently, where it was quite reasonably priced, a little less than Clairefontaine, Lalo, and so on. It is widely available — I bought it in a rather ordinary department store. The pad itself was unremarkable, though it has a stiff enough back. The best thing about it is that it has not only dark line guides, but a sheet of blotting paper on top. However, it is firmly glued into the block, and at least the first sheets I have torn out did not tear off completely cleanly. The paper feels thin (80g) and smooth but looks matte. It is not a bright white, but far from ivory, and has a bit of texture. I wrote on it with five different pens, all but the last of which are smooth writers (F-C Loom (warm brown, Pilot Metropolitan (black) and Preppy (Emerald), Platinum Plaisir (cool brown), Noodler's Konrad (blue)) and it had a little feedback, but I did not feel it was dragging. The different inks I tried behaved quite differently on the paper, as can be seen below, with two of the three in a medium nib spreading, and also feathering to a small degree. However, none bled through, and there was very little ghosting, even in the feathered inks. I was hoping for a sheen, but there was none noticeable. One of the shading inks shaded (Diamine Sargasso Sea), but not to the degree seen on many papers. Herbin's Emerald of Chivor (usually high shading) and (usually some shading) Montblanc's ~2006 Limited Edition Seasonal Brown, and Noodler's Burma Road Brown did not have noticeable shading. Good news for those who like a monochrome experience. Drying time was good.