Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, was famous for always carrying a pocket notebook in which he jotted notes and ideas. After seeing this mentioned in various books, I was curious to see what kind of notebooks he used. A little research brought me to the website of The Henry Ford, which comprises a museum and factory tour venues as well as an online archive.

Here’s one of Henry Ford’s jotters, used sometime between 1880-1935:

Henry Ford always carried a small notebook to jot down important pieces of information or simply reminders of things to remember. The over 50 small jot books give a sense of a busy man trying to capture information on the fly. The contents vary from questions to ask Thomas Edison to names and addresses to grocery lists.

I also liked this notebook, which belonged to Edsel Ford:
 

Henry Ford and his family spent the beginning of January, 1911 visiting the Grand Canyon. Edsel noted in his diary that on New Year’s Day he joined his parents on a hike in the canyon. Other activities included visiting with Clara’s sister Eva and her husband, watching Native American dances in the Hopi House and photographing the canyon.

See more at: Notebook Used by Edsel Ford, 1911 – The Henry Ford