The Moroccan-French author Leila Slimani was featured in the Wall Street Journal magazine in December, talking about some of her favorite objects. Included are a notebook and pen! In the front is a notebook. I’ve been writing everything in notebooks since I was 18. We write because we don’t want to forget, and it’s something … Continue reading Leila Slimani’s Notebook
I happened to notice an Instagram post from Printed Matter about a facsimile book of artist Jimbo Blachly’s notebooks. (Available on the Printed Matter website.) The activity of drawing is primary to Jimbo Blachly’s work. In addition to individual drawings and watercolors, he has kept daily notebooks and sketchbooks which make up a large visual … Continue reading Jimbo Blachly’s Notebooks
I took screenshots of these wonderful notebook images about a month ago. I think they are from a book about the French film director François Truffaut, but I somehow managed to lose track of the link back to the page where I found the images. If anyone recognizes the pages, please let me know so … Continue reading Truffaut’s Notebooks
I get some great tips from readers, especially David B., who shared this one recently: “Fresh Air” on NPR today reran Teri Gross’s interview with Francis Ford Coppola from 2016 when his Godfather production notebook facsimile was published. I don’t remember ever hearing about this book at the time but it sounds like a fascinating … Continue reading The Godfather Notebook
Before the holidays, I was talking about my wishlist of a few notebook/sketchbook/art supply items. Santa came through! I expected to receive James McElhinney’s Sketchbook Traveler book, and I wasn’t disappointed. McElhinney’s pocket size sketches are reproduced life-size, each accompanied with text about the location depicted. Additional material in the book gives some lessons about … Continue reading Christmas Books
Here’s a few things I discovered over the past few weeks, at least one of which I think might be under my Christmas tree already. The rest will be purchased with a gift card I just received! J.M.W. Turner: The Wilson Sketchbook This looks like a lovely facsimile sketchbook to add to my collection. Turner … Continue reading What I Want for Christmas!
I stumbled across an old article from Wallpaper about a 2015 exhibition of the sketchbooks of British architect Chris Wilkinson, at the Royal Academy. Looks like it must have been a very interesting show! Here is an image from one of Chris Wilkinson’s sketchbooks: I also love this image of his pile of sketchbooks. Almost … Continue reading Chris Wilkinson’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
A recent piece on the Elle magazine website compiles the thoughts of 4 women on how keeping a diary has affected their lives and their writing. Unfortunately there were no photos of any of their diaries, but below are a few excerpts from the article: Dolly Alderton: Now I record everything, from dialogue I overhear … Continue reading Four Authors on Keeping a Diary
The poet Dylan Thomas held on to some of his school notebooks from his youth, and mined their contents for his adult work. For many years, only 4 notebooks were known of, but in 2014 a fifth came to light. John Goodby, the professor who edited it for publication, tells its story in an article … Continue reading A Dylan Thomas Notebook