Mr Baslam

Mr Baslam is a character in Charmed Life. He lives in a shabby cottage in Helm St Mary, the village below Chrestomanci Castle, and runs an exotic supplies business; the supplies are hidden in display cases of stuffed animals that crowd his living room. The sign in the window is spelled "Eggsotick Serplys" in an attempt to convince Chrestomanci's people that he is charmingly harmless.

Mr Baslam is a fat man with old and sagging trousers and red drooping eyes like a St Bernard's and jowls like a bloodhound. His breath smells of beer. This, combined with the sign, gives an impression that is to some extent misleading: he is good at his job, and capable of getting his hands on many rare and expensive items - including banned ingredients like dragon's blood. (Gwendolen tells him that Mr Nostrum told her that Mr Baslam is the best agent he knows, and can get anything - but considering who's talking to whom, one feels obliged to take this with several pinches of salt.)

See also Charmed Life (spoilers).