Flourish & Blotts ... Significance of the name?

[Stephen]

Did anyone else wonder about the significance of the name for the book store on Diagon Alley? I thought I'd heard it somewhere before but couldn't recall until I re-read a bit of Little Men. When one of the boys finishes writing his essay (with quill pen and ink) he blots & flourishes it.

The blotting is to remove the excess ink and the flourishing it (waving the paper in the air) speeds the drying. I'm guessing from the casual way that Louisa May Alcott used the phrase that it was quite common in the day.

Perhaps J.K. Rowling was giving a nod to olde tyme authers

[Jaye Latts]

I haven't done bags of research on JK Rowling's works, but do know that many names (people, places,etc...) have a significance/history. She did research and that is shown in her work. The one I am sure about is that there was a man called Nicholas Flamel and he did do work re: alchemy. I came across his name in a non-fiction book (can't remember the title, although since thinking about it, it may have been "Europe in the 14th Century").

[Valkyrie_of_Valhalla]

flourish and blotts... hmm... perhaps she did it as a reference to 'little men', or perhaps she just meant flourishes while writing letters, and mistakes, like when you blot ink?
It is a book store, right?

also, Junelala, u r right, there r heaps of references to various things in h.p. - like Sirius Black (sirius is a star in the constellation of the 'black dog', i think.)

[Stephen]

Aki wrote: "... like Sirius Black (sirius is a star in the constellation of the 'black dog', i think.)"

Yeppers, pretty much correct. Sirius was known to the greeks as Orion's dog and is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major.

[Valkyrie_of_Valhalla]

yep. awesome!