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Jacques Herbin – rue de la Verrerie/ Bleu Verrerie (Couleurs de Paris collection) Couleurs de Paris (Colours of Paris) is a 5-set ink inks by Jacques Herbin: Rue de la Verrerie - "Royal" blue Moulin Rouge - orangish-red. Tour Eiffel/ Eiffel Tower - Sepia gold Métropolitain - Paris subway/underground mint green Les Toits de Paris (Paris rooftops)- Blue grey Here is a snap shot of the colours: They are also sold separately in 10 ml/30 ml J Herbin format /bottles, which is kind of surprising, but a clever marketing move, IMHO. I prefer the small 10 ml bottles. Of the 5 inks, 4 are Parisian icons/ landmarks. Rue de la Verrerie, one of the oldest streets in Paris (11thcentury) is in this collection because it was Jacques Herbin’s address in 1810. (Many thanks to @Mercian for researching that). Goulet has marketed these inks differently. This one as Bleu Verrerie. The colour reminds me of the blue in the enamel street signs of Paris, but it might be inspired by the stain glass blue of Notre-Dame. In the 12th century several Verreries or glass makers, resided in this street. Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia. I decided to start with this ink as it seemed a very typical /boring royal blue, even though the chroma seemed promising: It seems almost identical the top two swatches But boy in writing these inks are so different When I started writing, I was in awe. I didn’t want to empty my pens and wanted to savour every single drop. It’s a very wet saturated royal blue. But it changes colour depending what paper /pen combination you use. This ink sings on Japanese Papers with dry pens and has maximum shading. It varies from pastel Royal blue, blurple up to navy. The wetter the pen, the darker the colour and the shading disappears. Very long dry times on Rhodia, so lefty over-writers, this ain’t for you. It has decent water resistance. Cleaning was easy but it needed a nice overnight soak. You can see the gorgeous chroma, on tissue paper, when I finally cleaned the pen. ( for ink nerds ) My experience with royal blues has been limited in the past years, but this one has been a very pleasant surprise Writing Samples: Photo: Water test: Left side 10 seconds under running water. Art Work: This ink and Tour Eiffel /or Eiffel Tower Brown are very complementary. So I had fun playing around, inventing stained glasses: My first attempts. (Note the blue grey in the top right has a bit of Lexington gray in the mix) Stained glass from the Cathédrale de Notre Chat et souris (cat & mouse) 😸 and finally both inks iwith maximum saturation: · Pens used: Pilot F3A, Lamy (EF/F/M/B, BB) · Writing experience: Inky heaven! · What I liked: Colour, shading, writing experience. · What I did not like: Long dry times, wetness · What some might not like: Same as above · Shading: Subtle on Rhodia, amazing on Japanese paper. · Ghosting: Depending paper, nib size, wetness, yes on cheap paper. · Bleed through: Yes, with a wet pen. · Flow Rate: Very wet · Lubrication: Excellent. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Ok · Saturation: Saturated. · Shading Potential: Great on Japanese paper. · Sheen: No. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Depending pen, nib wetness, flexing etc. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): No. · Clogging: Did not notice. · Cleaning: Not as easy as R&K royal blue. It needs a nice overnight soak. · Water resistance: Quite good. · Availability: 10 ml, 30 ml bottles and a set of 5x 10 ml bottles. Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier