Baron Bich
« "One day my wife will write my biography" he would invariably say.
After taking so much pressure I felt it was my duty to stir the memories of his past. First out of my conscience and also out of a desire to incite hope in others. It is always possible to start from nothing and end up with something. »
History...
In 1964 France awakened to a new sailing era following the victory of
Eric Tabarly in the second Observer Single-Handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR).
His feat proved to be the catalyst for future generations of French sailors
who would go on to navigate the globe. It would be years, however, until
the subtlety of "match racing" between two boats, the essence
of the America's Cup, was fully understood....
History
Laurence BICH's book : Baron Bich, a man of vision
"BIC" embodies the France of the "Roaring Thirties"
and of bold entrepreneurs, that of growth, mass consumption, advertising
and gadgets that will become as indispensable as they are familiar.
In 1948 at the age of 34, Marcel BICH was the owner of a small factory
based in the Parisian suburb of Clichy, France, which subcontracted the
production of fountain-pen casings.
At the time the market had been shaken for several months by the introduction
of a new gadget : the "BIRO". Baron Bich did not think much
of this innovation. The gadget was expensive and it leaked on both ends.
While pushing a wheelbarrow in the garden at his country house, he had
an illumination: the invention of the wheel can be applied to writing!
From now on, the ball-point pen would free the hand that could run as
fast as one could think.
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