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The Basildon Bond brand was developed in 1911 by Millington and Sons, a London-based stationery manufacturer. The brand became the property of John Dickinson Stationery when Millingtons was acquired in 1918.

In reality, the brand name was arrived at purely by chance. In the summer of 1911, Millington’s was considering the introduction of a new rag writing paper, and some of the directors of the company were staying at a country house in a little village in the Thames Valley in Berkshire. One of the matters arising was a name for this new paper brand. The directors decided to take the name from the house in which they were staying, Basildon Park. Therefore, it has no link with the more famous Basildon in Essex.

Basildon Park is now a National Trust property, recently made famous as a key location in the 2005 feature film version of Pride and Prejudice.

Britain’s best-loved writing paper

Basildon Bond first became the best selling notepaper in the UK back in 1932, and with a comprehensive sales and marketing campaign from then on established itself as ‘the’ stationery brand. Press, TV, van side and poster advertising all ensured the brand prospered.

Once it had established itself as the generic paper of choice for personal stationery, during World War II it was able to benefit from the huge boom in letter writing, as loved ones were scattered across the world.

‘The Etiquette of Letter Writing’

In 1939 a booklet was commissioned, ‘The Etiquette of Letter Writing’, by Lady Eleanor Smith, available free of charge by sending off a coupon inside sets of Basildon Bond writing paper. In spite of Britain having just gone to war, the booklet was a huge success and over 100,000 were distributed.

The evolution of an icon

Basildon Bond personal stationery today is a contemporary twist on a classic design. The iconic cover design is instantly recognisable, as versions have been produced for 8 decades.

The present and the future

While best-known for personal stationery, Basildon Bond has diversified into other products for business use.

In 2007, Basildon Bond for the office was re-launched as a range of environmentally responsible business envelopes using 100% recycled paper. The utmost importance was placed on providing a range that was both better for the environment, but that also delivered the quality required to project a professional image.

Another recent innovation in this range is the Envelopad, which comprises 50 White DL recycled envelopes in a pad. The envelopes can be peeled off as required with no gum residue left on the envelope edge. The wraparound cover keeps them protected when carried around or stored in a desk drawer. There is also a slot in the back cover for storing a book of stamps.

The development of the brand doesn’t stop there. The future for Basildon Bond is intrinsically linked to its relevance to today’s society. And as the awareness of climate change heightens and more and more people want to contribute to reducing their impact on the environment, Basildon Bond has launched a new range of notebooks - One Chance.

One Chance is a fantastic new range that focuses on the plight of a number of endangered species. With high impact photographic covers, the notebooks also include a fascinating information sheet inside the front cover detailing the reason for the creature’s risk of extinction, statistics on recycling in the UK along with 20 tips to help people address their own impact on the environment.

Recognition of the strength of the Basildon Bond brand has been given with the award of Business Superbrand status every consecutive year since 2005 and in winning the 2007 BOSS Brand Awareness Award.