Today I’ll take a look at two Oxford notebooks from my collection. I picked these up on my travels in Europe, where the Oxford brand is much more common than it is in the USA. More the pity, as these are some of my favorite finds!
First, the hardcover Oxford Signature notebook. I purchased this in Portugal in 2011 for €6.40. The Signature line seems to be composed of Moleskine alternative type hardcover notebooks in various sizes: this one is a 90 x 140mm pocket size hardcover notebook with ribbon marker, elastic closure and back pocket. (They refer to this as A6 size, but the actual outside dimensions are 91 x 144mm.)
The exterior is not as attractive as the plain faux-leather used in many competing brands, but it’s not totally hideous either. It’s a glossy paper over board cover, with a design that seems typical for Oxford notebooks– a subtle stripe and a curved darker tone at the spine. The Oxford logo is quite prominent on the front, and their web address is printed on the back. Something about this design just says “European school supply/office supply store” to me, I guess because many notebooks I’ve seen in such shops have a similar look. The Signature notebook line comes in two color palettes: a brown/black/blue/grey collection of darker tones, and some brighter pink/purple/red/mauve tones. Someone probably said “let’s do some girl colors and some guy colors.” The construction seems very solid and good quality– there is some overhang, but it is pretty narrow, and the corners are neatly wrapped. The spine is slightly rounded and opens quite flat. The ribbon marker and elastic closure are both narrower than what is used on Moleskine and most other brands.
I think the notebook may have been shrink-wrapped when I bought it, with a vellum band with branding info. I must have stuck the price and barcode labels inside the back of the notebook after removing the shrinkwrap– if they were stuck directly on the back of the notebook, they didn’t leave any residue. The sticker notes that this notebook was made in China.
Inside, the endpapers are a plain light brown, including the back pocket. There is no other branding info or guidelines for writing your contact info. The paper is 90 GSM “Optik” paper used in many other Oxford and Black n’ Red notebooks. In this case, the paper is unlined, though lined and squared versions of this paper are also available in various formats. I have tested this paper before, so it was no surprise that it performed wonderfully with all my pens. The bright white makes colored inks really pop, with no feathering or bleed-through except with the wettest markers like the Accu-Liner and the Super Sharpie. The paper is smooth, but gives a bit of feedback, almost similar to a stone paper but not quite.
It is not easy to find pocket sized notebooks with unlined paper like this, and in fact Oxford seems to have discontinued the unlined version in this size, which makes me wish I’d bought more of them! You can see the current Signature notebook offerings on Oxford’s website.
My other Oxford notebook is quite similar in many ways. This one is from their “Essentials” line, which has a wider variety of softcover, staple-bound, and wire-bound notebooks in various sizes. (See the full range on Oxford’s website.) Mine was purchased for €3.99 at a FNAC store in Paris, in 2018. This notebook is a pocket sized softcover (actual dimensions 90 x 140mm), with sewn signatures so it opens flat. The closest comparison I can think of would be some of Clairefontaine’s notebooks, such as a couple I bought in Paris, but those are perfect-bound rather than having stitched signatures. The bright red cover has the same basic design as the other Oxford notebook, but it adds a “Office” logo near the spine. On the back cover, the Oxford logo is repeated and the barcode is printed on. The address of Hamelin, Oxford’s French corporate parent, is also included. (See my review of Hamelin’s Scribzee notebooks.) This notebook is made in France.
Inside, you have a grey double end sheet in the front and back, with space for contact details. There is no elastic closure, ribbon marker, or pocket. The paper has a 5mm grid in grey lines that some might find a bit heavy compared to the finer lines in some other brands. The “Optik” branding doesn’t appear anywhere and the paper weight isn’t indicated, so I don’t think this is the same paper as the hardcover Oxford notebook. It feels very smooth but maybe just a smidgen less smooth than the Optik paper, and the white is less bright, though it looks very cool and white compared to the yellowish/creamy Moleskine paper, as you can see in the photo above. But it’s still great paper! Excellent with fountain pens though I found that the ink colors were a little less vibrant. Similar performance in terms of bleed-through and show-through.
What’s not to love about these notebooks? They are well-priced, great quality, and a pleasure to write in. The look of the covers might be the only downside, but I kind of like the generic, unpretentious nature of them. These are notebooks that just say “hey, I’m a student or businessperson who needs to write stuff down,” not, “hey, I think I’m the next Hemingway.”
Alas, the other unfortunate thing about these Oxford notebooks is that they aren’t easy to find, at least for those of us in the USA. I’ve posted previously about finding versions of them on Amazon, sometimes in bargain-priced multipacks, but as of this writing, a lot of those listings seem to be unavailable for US shipping. (This may be temporary due to coronavirus disruptions.) But if you search “Oxford Office Essentials Notebook” or “Oxford Signature Notebook,” you may get lucky. If not, it’s a great excuse to book a trip to Europe!
I have received free samples for review in the past from Hamelin, Oxford’s parent company, but the Oxford notebook samples reviewed in this post were purchased by me and I have not been compensated for this post in any way. Links to Amazon are affiliate links and I may receive a small commission from any purchases. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.