I went ahead and bought the $7 "free" scroll from MyFreeScroll.com, the Web site of the Historical Research Center and its founder Michael Walshe, who claims on one of his sites to be the creator of the Ginsu knife ("In Japan, the hand is quicker than the blade, but it doesn't work on a tomato..."). The "free" scroll offer that costs $7 will put you through about five pages of sales pitches on the Web site, seeking desperately to upgrade you to plaques, histories of coats of arms and whatnot, and shipping upgrades before it will let you finish the transaction. It's one of the more aggressive sales sites we've seen, and concludes with a pitch to join a buyer's club for $16.95 a month, a Web classic that's made a lot of people rich and others really, really mad.
The Historical Research Center is a franchise business, and about 5,000 British pounds ($7,500 or so in today's economy) can start you up with your own branch.