It is hard to believe that the fan usually makes its ‘appearance’, if any, as a mere article of decoration. Fans after all have a thousand years’ tradition and combine efficacy with elegance on a hot day – much cooler, in both senses of the word, than a grubby rolled-up newspaper. Ours are made in Valencia, Spain, by a firm with 100 years’ experience of producing fans of all shapes and sizes: we’ve chosen this simple, unpretentious model with pear-wood struts and dyed cotton in a single color. They’re intended as fans for every day use, both in and out of doors – not as ‘interesting’ collectors’ items.