It’s autumn in the US…..a time of apple cider and big orange pumpkins. Nowhere is there a lovelier place to be this time of year than Cape Cod. Warm dry days and sweater-cool nights. This is the place one dreams of when it’s Indian summer.
In Wellfleet, a small coastal town about halfway down “the Cape” and about 100 miles south of Boston, is Jules Besch Stationers. This is certainly not the ubiquitous stationery shop: The New York Times travel section says about Jules Besch, this wonderful shop “brings back the art of elegance and extreme good taste with an extraordinary collection of cards, fine stationery, journals, papers, and pens. Proprietor Michael Tuck’s warm and welcoming nature is as beautiful as his products. “
And that bring us to Michael……Michael owns, stocks, and runs this treasure, and has done so for the past 18 years. In this day of Twitter and recession, that is a miracle in itself. “The right people have found me,” he says to explain such longevity; quite the humble and kind man. Indeed they have, as the shop enjoys a dedicated customer base. This out-of-the-way shop, charmingly housed in a beautifully preserved Victorian,is graced by rich mahogany woodwork and high ceilings. Rarely does one find such a superb gallery stocked with beautiful writing paper, unique and classic cards, tasteful bookplates as well as inkwells and bookends from an era of elegance. Not to mention a gorgeous artistic display of writing journals….
Shops like this are more prevalent in Europe. ”I love the challenge of keeping up with European import choices,” he chortles. One such favorite is of course Rossi 1931. He stocks a great deal of the products: Rolled wrap, notebooks, both soft and hard cover, writing paper, boxed notes, file folders and boxed classical Italian paper. “Rossi is just a lovely company,” he softly states. “The pricing is phenomenal, the gift wrap with the highlighted gilding is so remarkable, including the holiday paper. I love the fact that the boxed notes are in 12’s.” But his top seller in the line? “File folders. Oh my, I can’t keep them in stock. They fly out.”
He knows his products, has an impeccable sense of color and style, offers full calligraphy services and one would be hard pressed to think of any store that rivals the elegance of Jules Besch Stationer. “Oh this little slice of heaven is a writer’s delight.”
Michael Tuck
JULES BESCH STATIONERS
15 Bank St.
02667 WELLFLETT, MA
Phone (508) 349 1231
