A very poignant article from the Sept. 1, 2019 New York Times: Waiting for the Monsoon, Discovering a Brain Tumor Instead. The photo of reporter Rod Nordland’s journal was what caught my eye, but the whole story is well worth reading. A few brief excerpts below, focusing, of course, on the journal, though there is … Continue reading A Journalist’s Monsoon Journal
Some of my favorite images from artists’ sketchbooks are from Eugene Delacroix’s travel notebooks. A new book now translates his notes into English for the first time. In 1832 the 34-year-old Eugène Delacroix, already well known for his Orientalist works, accompanied a French diplomatic mission to Morocco and travelled through Algeria and Andalusia. His exposure … Continue reading Delacroix’s Notebooks, Now in English
Fun with notebooks and Photoshop! Have you seen the leaning tower of Marge Simpson’s hair? Italian artist Pietro Cataudella takes his sketchbook everywhere he goes, but his drawings don’t just depict of the places he visits—they become part of the landscape. His ongoing project, titled CityLiveSketch, features architectural 3D drawings that seem to jump from the artist’s journals, depicting famous … Continue reading Pietro Cataudella’s Sketchbooks
This lovely notebook belonged to Ian McTaggart Cowan, a Scottish-Canadian zoologist and conservationist. The image is from the archives of the University of Victoria, where you can flip through the rest of its pages. (The text is also transcribed next to the images, in case you can’t read the small handwriting!) The journal covers 1957-1958, … Continue reading Ian McTaggart Cowan’s Travel Journal
A cool collection of notebooks from the Overlook Trail in Sonoma, CA. Make the trek to the top of the Overlook Trail and you are treated to a terrific view and the chance to take a minute to write down whatever’s on your mind.“My feet hurt.â€â€œI didn’t trip once.â€And “I’m proud of myself,†are all … Continue reading Overlook Trail hikers notebooks
Some fascinating historic notebooks recording the first contact between British settlers and Aboriginal people in Australia: A set of 1788 notebooks recording the first attempts at communication between British settlers and Indigenous Australians reveals language that is still in use in Sydney Aboriginal communities today. The Dawes notebooks, named for First Fleet officer William Dawes … Continue reading The Dawes Notebooks
This book looks really cool: The Sea Journal: Seafarers’ Sketchbooks From the description: In this remarkable gathering of private journals, log books, letters and diaries, we follow the voyages of intrepid sailors, from the frozen polar wastes to South Seas paradise islands, as they set down their immediate impressions of all they saw. They capture … Continue reading Seafarers’ Sketchbooks
Great story about a sketchbook that went astray for 36 years! In 1983, Thomas Thospecken set off on a cross-country journey, intending to document his travels in sketchbooks and journals. He lost one of them along the way, but decades later, the person who found it managed to return it to him! Artist Thomas Thorspecken, … Continue reading Lost and Found Sketchbook
My Modern Met interviews a talented artist whose notebooks are a constant companion as he travels the world. Adam Hackländer’s travel journals have a style very similar to (and probably inspired by) José Naranja’s notebooks: In the age of everything digital, Hackländer’s handcrafted keepsakes offer a more deliberate and thoughtful form of remembering his journeys. … Continue reading Adam Hackländer’s Travel Journals
If you love looking at other people’s travel journals, check out Notes from the Road. Erik Gauger has traveled to some amazing places, and filled lots of travel journals with sketches and notes. Instead of carrying around dozens of heavy guidebooks when I travel, I condense my useful information into a small size Moleskine travel … Continue reading Erik Gauger’s Travel Journals