I’ve almost always had a sharp disparity between my preferred notebooks for personal use and my preferred work notebooks. My personal notebooks are always pocket sized, with plain, dotted, or grid pages, usually hardcover. But my work notebooks are usually none of those things. I’ve written about some of my work notebooks before. In my … Continue reading My Latest Work Notebooks
A post by Stuart at Nero’s Notes got me thinking about notebook routines. Not just which notebooks are used, but habits of how and when you use them. Stuart talks about his daily journaling routine: each morning, he gets up early, meditates, then writes in his Hobonichi Techo. I love the idea of this kind … Continue reading Notebook Routines
I recently came across this 2016 Huffington Post article about the auction sale of a Salvador Dali notebook via Pinterest, and thought “How on earth did I miss this?!?” This is one of my favorite glimpses of an artist’s notebook! Here’s A Rare Glimpse Inside Salvador Dali’s Unpublished Diaries Salvador Dali, the great Surrealist painter … Continue reading Salvador Dali Notebook
Here’s the latest update on my daily carry notebooks, or at least frequently used notebooks. The COVID-19 pandemic means I’m not necessarily going somewhere everyday, other than for a walk around my neighborhood, so I’m not actually “carrying” my notebooks much. My most frequently used notebooks are: The 2021 Nolty Efficiency Notebook Gold, where I … Continue reading Notebooks I’m Using Now: February 2021
This World War I notebook found on eBay is a recent addition to my collection of vintage notebooks. I was intrigued by this notebook because I’d never seen one quite like it, and there is no manufacturer’s name or symbol anywhere on it. Unlike the other World War 1 soldier’s diary in my collection, it’s … Continue reading World War I Notebook
Such an odd story… they announced last week that two of Darwin’s notebooks must have been stolen, after being missing for 20 years. Imagine a library so big that it takes them 20 years to decide for sure if something is just misplaced or definitely not there at all! Twenty years ago, two historic notebooks … Continue reading Lost or Stolen Darwin Notebooks
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
I came across what looks like a very interesting collection of notebooks: Much like the celebrated journals from Lewis and Clark’s Expedition in early 19th century America, geologists with the Department of Natural Resources’ Missouri Geological Survey have been keeping journals since the mid-1800s. Thanks to a cooperative effort with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geological … Continue reading Missouri Geological Survey Notebooks
These are some pretty amazing nature journals! The site where I first saw Jo Brown’s images described them as being in a “Moleskine” but that page layout doesn’t look like any Moleskine brand notebook I’ve ever seen. Does anyone recognize it? Many artists find inspiration in the diverse beauty of the environment. UK-based illustrator Jo Brown documents the … Continue reading Jo Brown’s Nature Journals