The 1948 diary below belonged to Martin Vivés, an artist who lived in southwestern France. He also seems to have been a museum curator there in the 1940s-1960s, and he met some famous artists including Raoul Dufy, as shown in the notes made in the diary. March 2 shows the phrase “visite Dufy.” It’s an … Continue reading A French Artist’s 1948 Diary
Oh the wonderful things you can stumble across online… an old notebook with transit maps of Paris! I love the composition book look, typography, and the design of the maps! Very cool… if this online auction hadn’t ended long ago, I would have snapped it up! “Carnet format 10 cm x 16,8 … Continue reading Notebook with Paris Transit Maps
A cool story from the Manchester Evening News: Angela Prince, 74, found the dust-covered notebooks while clearing the attic of her aunt and uncle’s attic in Partington. They appear to be written by children of the Hall family, who ran the medical herbalists Hall’s Hygiene in Salford until the 1970s. Retired secretary Angela, who … Continue reading World War 2 Diaries Found in Attic
I just love this. A beautiful old notebook with wonderfully drawn little sketches. I’ve come across a few other examples of these T. J. Smith’s “metallic memorandum books” online (and posted about one here). I just wish I’d find one in a junk shop somewhere so I could own one of these treasures myself! Read … Continue reading The Sketchbook / Memorandum Book of W.G. Read
I’d love to flip through this old notebook: “This notebook was owned by the 19th Century poet, preacher, and naturalist, George Crabbe. The binding was damaged, and split along the joint, and some of the sections were loose. However, of most concern were the loose plant and insect specimens that were pressed between the pages.” … Continue reading Restoration of a 19th Century Naturalist’s Notebook
This is the only sketchbook known to have belonged to Grant Wood, the artist best known for his painting “American Gothic.” It dates back to 1929. It was supposed to have been auctioned last summer and was expected to go for $40,000-$60,000. The auction was canceled when a museum in Davenport, Iowa said the sketchbook … Continue reading Grant Wood’s Long-Lost Sketchbook
This is amazing! I’m not surprised they sold for over $3,400! From the listing: Andrew A. Ryan Police record, 1899-1920; 1 ledger, 23 notebooks (4 x 6 in.). The work of a detective in a turn of the twentieth century U.S. city was nearly as difficult and dangerous as it is today, with murders … Continue reading Early 20th Century Police Detective Log Books
The Haverford College library has a collection of over 700 Quaker diary and journal manuscripts. The one shown below is the diary of Henry Hale Graham Sharpless from June 26, 1868. The original post linked to seems to have been deleted, but here’s one with some information about this collection:Exploring Hidden Collections – The 18th-19th … Continue reading Quaker Diaries and Journals
The front cover of Isaac Newton’s notebook from the 1660s. How amazing to think that something he called a “Waste Book” would contain his notes on scientific and mathematical concepts that are so important to us today! The pages are available digitally via the Cambridge University Library. See more images at Isaac Newton’s Personal Notebooks … Continue reading Isaac Newton’s Notebooks
This is a pretty neat story: Le Hendrick never thought he would find buried treasure while sifting through a file cabinet inside Conway’s Country Club Drive fire station. “I was just looking for a few files and saw something strange at the bottom of the drawer,†the Conwayite and battalion chief of fire operations said. … Continue reading A Fire Chief’s Notebooks