Shoebox Tour: A Box of Dot-Grid and Lined Notebooks

Here’s another shoebox tour! This box of notebooks, one of the many that hold my collection, contains lined and dot-grid notebooks that I may find a use for someday, or at least like enough to want to keep. As with the previous shoebox tour, I first just looked at the box without taking any of the notebooks out and identified them by their spines. Then I dug in further to see if I was right!

X17 refillable notebook, Received as a sample for review

Reviewed in 2011, here. I still like the idea of using a system like this with slim staple-bound notebooks inside a cover, but haven’t quite figured out how to make it work for me.

Elan Surveyor’s Field Book, purchased

Reviewed in 2013, here. Various formats are available on Amazon.

Ideal notebook from Mexico, purchased in NYC

Reviewed in 2018. The store where I bought it closed, but you can buy Ideal notebooks from Rad and Hungry.

Alwych notebook, purchased in Brooklyn.

Reviewed in 2017, here. Hard to find, Amazon only seems to have the larger size, but I have seen them in a couple of NYC stores from time to time.

Pilot The notebook and The II notebook, both purchased at Kinokuniya.

I reviewed the The II notebook first, in 2010. The smaller The notebook was bought a couple years later and reviewed in 2013.

Rationella notebook from Sweden, received as a gift from a reader

I haven’t done an in-depth review, but included it in this post. The Rationella notebook is very similar to the Bindewerk notebooks below, with a linen cover and rounded spine, but it is just a hair smaller, and has lined pages. I would love to get more Rationella notebooks, but I think it would require a trip to Germany or Scandinavia.

Clairefontaine notebook, purchased in 1990s

I don’t remember exactly where or when I bought this but it’s a relatively common notebook still today, though Clairefontaine’s cover patterns seem to have changed somewhat over the years. Here’s the current version on Amazon, which is also sold in a 5-pack at a much better unit price. I used a few pages of this notebook to write notes about a book I was reading, but then abandoned it. This type of Clairefontaine notebook with the cloth covered spine were always my favorite– this one has stitched signatures within, unlike the squared “Age Bag” Clairefontaine notebooks I bought in Paris, where the pages are glued in under the cloth spine.

4 Bindewerk Linen Journals, purchased online

I still love these so much, especially when I see them in a group like this– such pretty colors. Reviewed here. I see these here and there in shops, but not so much online. HWE Stationery carries them, but the listing is unclear as to whether they are the lined or dotted version. OrangeArt has the dotted version.

Rhodia Webnotebook, received as sample for review

Read the 2009 review here. Various versions available on Amazon.

Front notebook, purchased online

Reviewed here: Front Notebook Review. The only source I’ve found for these is AliExpress.

Black & Red Notebook, purchased in Heathrow Airport and Black & Red Journal, purchased online

I always forget that it’s Black n’ Red, not Black & Red. Both the Black n Red notebooks above were reviewed in this post from 2018. The stitched softcover is still available on Amazon. And I was finally able to find the hardcover on Amazon too, after thinking it was a UK-only product!

Piccadilly notebook, purchased at Borders

Oops, it’s actually a Blackwell notebook, received in a trade with another blogger: reviewed in 2010

CR Gibson Markings notebook, purchased at Walmart?

Nope, actually a Mead notebook, purchased at Walmart, reviewed in 2011.

Leuchtturm 1917 notebook, received as gift from Notizbuchblog.de

Reviewed in 2011

Un Recueil d’Essais notebook, purchased at Foyle’s, London

Reviewed in 2018: Iconic Essay Notebook. Available on Amazon, but pricey.

Moleskine Voyageur notebook, purchased

Reviewed in 2015. Now comes in other colors too, available on Amazon.

Waverley Scotland notebook, received as sample for review

Reviewed just recently: Waverley Scotland Notebook Review

Not pictured, but I also just recently added to this box the 2-pack of Taotree notebooks I recently reviewed. Great value, available at Amazon.

Of the notebooks in this box, the dot-grid ones are what I’m most likely to use. The Bindewerk notebooks are really a favorite of mine, and the Taotree notebooks, while a bit less refined, are an exciting find. I really like the Clairefontaine and Black n’ Red notebooks too, but wish they had plain or dotted pages. Many of the others are hard to find, and/or have lined pages, so they are more for the pleasure of collecting. Hope you’ve enjoyed this shoebox tour, there will be quite a few more to come!

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