This book sounds fascinating! It was just reviewed in the New York Times: Rome, 1950: The diary begins innocently enough, with the name of its owner, Valeria Cossati, written in a neat script. Valeria is buying cigarettes for her husband when she is entranced by the stacks of gleaming black notebooks at the tobacco shop. … Continue reading The Forbidden Notebook
This looseleaf notebook was a recent eBay purchase. I bought it because it was a pocket size looseleaf from the 1950s, described as being 3×5″, and the brand name was unfamiliar. That was interesting enough to me, and the notebook wasn’t expensive, so I thought it would be nice to have it in my collection … Continue reading Vintage Looseleaf Notebook Made by Wilson Jones
An interesting piece in the New York Times: Unearthing Rick Barton, a Boho Bard of North Beach, about a Beat-era artist whose work is now on view at the Morgan Library in NYC. Rick Barton was a somewhat obscure artist who lived in San Francisco in the late 1950s and early 1960s, often sketching in … Continue reading Rick Barton’s Sketchbooks
Imagine buying a vintage Hermès address book on eBay and then realizing it belonged to Dora Maar, the artist and poet who is best known for having been Picasso’s mistress and muse! Brigitte Benkemoun, the author of Finding Dora Maar, describes her process of deducing the address book’s origins: A-B: The first entry is illegible … Continue reading Dora Maar’s Address Book
Sometimes people find their way to my website by searching for a bygone notebook brand that has left few other traces online. Often they are looking to replace a long discontinued notebook, and I’m sorry not to be able to help. But sometimes I actually can provide answers! I recently received a message from someone … Continue reading A Great-Grandfather’s 1953 Marquette Diary
Here’s another fun eBay find: a vintage Marquette looseleaf notebook. I’m always quite excited to find vintage notebooks like this that are in excellent condition despite being at least 60 or 70 years old. This notebook is pocket size, measuring approximately 3 5/8 x 5 1/2″. The cover is faux leather and somewhat flexible. Aside … Continue reading Vintage Marquette Looseleaf Notebook
Here is a very cute eBay find: a 3 x 5″ Collegiate notebook that I would guess is maybe from the 1940s-1950s or maybe earlier given that the price is only 10 cents. Cool cover design and excellent brown pressboard cover. For sale on eBay as of this writing for $9.99 or best offer. After … Continue reading Vintage Collegiate Notebook
I picked up this vintage travel diary on eBay for about $7. I’m not sure exactly when it would have been manufactured, but it definitely dates from an era when travel was quite a different experience from what it is today! The diary begins with 17 pages of frontmatter, most of which consists of various … Continue reading Vintage Travel Diary
An amazing article by Steve Lange, from Rochester Magazine: When my Nana died, a dozen years ago this month, she left me—or I was given—two items as mementos. Her notebook entries cover 73 years, from “June 10, 1933: Married†through Jan. 25, 2006, just a few months before she died. I can’t read the last … Continue reading A Grandmother’s Notebook
Gorgeous old notebooks! These belonged to a Portuguese historian and geographer named Orlando Ribeiro. Read and see more at Famous Sketchbooks: Orlando Ribeiro’s Field Notebooks | Endpaper: The Paperblanks Blog.