When you build up a collection of notebooks over the years, it’s important to remember that sometimes the stash may not stay as well-preserved as you’d like if you aren’t using or at least handling them regularly! I was recently going through some of my boxes of notebooks, trying to decide what to use next as a daily journal. As I was fondling all my precious beauties, I felt that two of them were stuck together. When I pulled them out of the box, and then pulled them apart, I realized how bad it was!
The victims were a Miquelrius “Boarding” notebook that I reviewed in 2013 and a TWSBI notebook that I reviewed in 2015. I’m not sure which one is to blame, but I think it may have been the TWSBI that kind of melted or dissolved or something, becoming stuck to the Miquelrius book in the process. Or perhaps the Miquelrius cover broke down and developed a stickiness, and the TWSBI cover wasn’t strong enough to stay intact when I separated them. Either way, parts of the TWSBI cover peeled away and stuck to the back of the Miquelrius notebook.
I was able to scrape most of the gunk off the Miquelrius, and it should still be useable, though it won’t look very pretty on the back. The TWSBI is also usable inside, but the front cover is a wreck. Its elastic is also a bit loose, but from re-reading my own review, that seems to have been an issue from day one. I do have a second TWSBI notebook in my collection (this one has plain paper, and the other one has squared pages), but it doesn’t show any signs of stickiness or deterioration. Either the Miquelrius notebook is to blame, or there was just some bad reaction between these two particular cover materials when they were left touching for a long time.
It’s unfortunate that this happened to notebooks I can’t easily replace… but I have plenty of other notebooks, so I’m not going to stress about it!
I do plan to go through my other boxes and keep an eye out for other sticky situations. Some of these faux leather cover materials don’t last forever– I had an old Dayrunner planner cover that I had to trash a couple of years ago because it had gotten flaky and sticky. I have a looseleaf notebook where the leather cover is stuck to a plastic insert. I have old Filofaxes where the plastic credit card holder inserts have become brittle with age. Basically, if it’s not leather or paper, it’s some sort of plastic or vinyl that can start to break down. I may start wrapping certain notebooks in some sort of paper to preserve them better, as contact between surfaces seems to make the problem worse. But paper itself can age badly if it’s not acid-free. Even leather can dry out or become sticky if it’s not cared for. Nothing lasts forever! But neither will I… I guess it’s just a race to see whether my notebooks outlast me… a few more decades, I hope!
So this is something to watch for when storing filled notebooks as well. So unless one hunts up acid free papers and covers we are prone to some sort of age damage. Further, if one doesn’t use archive quality writing products, it could compromise the stored notebooks as well. I don’t worry about my pocket notebooks too much as they tend to be general purpose things for me, but now I wonder about some of the sketchbooks I filled. You gave me somethings to ponder. Thanks.
I think that’s one reason traveler’s notebooks come with dust bags. Perhaps you could get simple linen bags to put some of your notebooks in.
That’s no fun, I’m sorry. I’ve had similar experiences- it’s the rubber in the cover reacting to trapped moisture and it eventually breaks it down and liquifies into unmanageable stickiness. For me it helped to simply not have the notebooks be as tightly pushed together in storage and it hasn’t happened since.
A different issue, but this reminds me of the rubber band problem. Almost all of them stretch out and become useless. Always such a weird feeling to pick up an old journal and realize it’s got a flappy piece of once-tense elastic-adjacent material attached to the back cover.
Oh I am right there with you!
I absolutely adored my Dayrunner from day one, which was long long ago. When I was going through things recently I came across some very similar deterioration with that horrible stickiness and those equally horrible sticky flakes which are not so easy to clean up, but it sounds as if you may already know this :(
I also had some certificates which were presented to us in what at the time were quite expensive-looking folders…probably “pleather”…leading to the same outcome. For us, anyway, I think that as another commenter said, that they were stored together tightly, but also in a warm-ish spot. I highly suspect that this would have happened anyway but I’m sure that the heat etc didn’t help at all.
We really enjoy reading your site. It’s such a complete guide to resources and always makes for fascinating browsing, Thank you!
Based on the damage and the face they were stuck together, enough humidity or moisture got in there. That type of damage is not just age, acid or wear
In this blog, the exploration of notebook deterioration is insightful and informative. Understanding the causes and effects helps readers preserve their notebooks better, ensuring longevity for their important notes and memories.