When I posted recently about most of my notebooks being stuck in a storage unit, a sympathetic commenter named Anna replied: “I feel your pain! Just remember–Anais Nin kept her diaries in a bank vault. Somewhere there’s a photo of her (perhaps in the vault?) surrounded by notebooks in a disorganized pile.” I had no … Continue reading Anaïs Nin and Her Journals
Below is a notebook or diary of a type that seems to have been very common in the mid-late 1800s. This one belonged to Julia Wilbur, a teacher, abolitionist, and suffragette from Rochester, NY whose diaries have been archived at Haverford College. “In 1862, she traveled on her own to Washington and Alexandria, then Union-occupied, … Continue reading Julia Wilbur’s Notebooks
Castelli Italy recently provided me with a lovely assortment of their latest products. (Also see my last review of Castelli notebooks from 2014.) My first impression was “elegant.” The dark colors and black and gold packaging really look snazzy, the stationery equivalent of an formal evening gown. As with an evening gown, some people may … Continue reading Review and Giveaway: Castelli Notebooks
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 … Continue reading Notebooks Used by Henry and Edsel Ford
If you happen to be in New York in the next few days, you might want to check out the “Volez, Voguez, Voyagez” exhibition about the history of Louis Vuitton, especially since it’s free! Some of it is just advertising for the brand, but what makes it interesting is that it looks back at the … Continue reading Louis Vuitton Exhibition in NYC
This is an antique notebook I found on eBay. These kinds of diaries seem to have been issued to soldiers during World War I & II, to encourage the recording of memories of the battles fought in, places seen, friendships made, etc. It also includes some handy French phrases. This notebook is completely blank– I … Continue reading World War I Soldier’s Diary
I don’t focus a lot on diaries and planners on this site, mainly because I haven’t used a paper planner myself for many years. But every once in a while, I see something that I have to have. I spotted this pocket size Nolty planner at the Kinokuniya bookstore in NYC, amongst a few other … Continue reading 2018 Nolty Diary from Japan
I recently watched the movie Still Alice. It’s a very sad movie! But it did have an interesting notebook moment. Alice (Julianne Moore) has a daughter (Kristen Stewart), who keeps a journal. From the glimpse of it onscreen, it seems to be one of these Apica notebooks: I did a post on notebooks in movies … Continue reading Notebook in the Movie “Still Alice”
This sounds like an interesting exhibit, at the Concord Museum in Massachusetts: This Ever New Self: Thoreau and His Journal. “The show centers on the journal Thoreau kept throughout his life and its importance in understanding the essential Thoreau. More than twenty of Thoreau’s journal notebooks are shown along with letters and manuscripts, books from … Continue reading Exhibition Featuring Henry David Thoreau’s Journals
You may have heard about the movie Victoria and Abdul, which stars Judi Dench as Queen Victoria, and Ali Fazal as a young Indian servant named Abdul Karim, whom she became close to. He taught her to speak and write in Urdu, which she practiced in notebooks such as the one below. Karim kept his … Continue reading Queen Victoria’s Urdu Notebook