In part 1 of my review of the Louise Carmen notebook, I cover the qualities of the Louise Carmen Pocket Heritage notebook itself. Now I’ll talk about how I managed to obtain it! When I discovered Louise Carmen notebooks online, I thought they looked great. Their website, and their Instagram, feature some some pretty mouth-watering … Continue reading Louise Carmen Notebook Review Part 2: Where to Buy
I have bought a LOT of notebooks on eBay. Mostly, I have bought older Modo e Modo Moleskines to build up my SABLE collection of pocket sketchbook, plain and gridded notebooks. The old Moleskine sketchbooks and squared notebooks are still my favorite notebooks of all time, and I’m glad I stocked up on ones that … Continue reading Extra Notebooks from eBay
Imagine buying a vintage Hermès address book on eBay and then realizing it belonged to Dora Maar, the artist and poet who is best known for having been Picasso’s mistress and muse! Brigitte Benkemoun, the author of Finding Dora Maar, describes her process of deducing the address book’s origins: A-B: The first entry is illegible … Continue reading Dora Maar’s Address Book
Here is a very cute eBay find: a 3 x 5″ Collegiate notebook that I would guess is maybe from the 1940s-1950s or maybe earlier given that the price is only 10 cents. Cool cover design and excellent brown pressboard cover. For sale on eBay as of this writing for $9.99 or best offer. After … Continue reading Vintage Collegiate Notebook
Every once in a while, I get this weird impulse to search for vintage Filofaxes on eBay. I bought one about a year ago and haven’t gotten around to reviewing (or using) it yet. In fact, I haven’t used a Filofax actively in at least 15 years. But I still love them, and as with … Continue reading Vintage Pocket Filofax on eBay
I picked up this vintage travel diary on eBay for about $7. I’m not sure exactly when it would have been manufactured, but it definitely dates from an era when travel was quite a different experience from what it is today! The diary begins with 17 pages of frontmatter, most of which consists of various … Continue reading Vintage Travel Diary
Every once in a while an antique diary catches my eye on eBay. Most of the time I don’t buy them because they are similar to things I already have in my collection. Sometimes they are more tempting but too expensive, usually because the contents might have some historical interest, such as a soldier’s memoirs … Continue reading 1940 Marquette Diary
Several years ago, while browsing on eBay, I came across a series of very unusual Moleskine notebooks that I’d never seen: Moleskine Zoom. I purchased two batches of these over the last few years, both times from international sellers where shipping was fairly expensive. (I “solved” that problem by making offers for combined bulk purchases, … Continue reading Moleskine Zoom Notebooks
Most of my notebooks are ones that I’ve bought new and filled with my own notes and sketches. But I also occasionally succumb to my weakness for collecting other people’s used notebooks when I see them at flea markets or on eBay. Here’s a few that I’ve picked up along the way. This Rice-Stix notebook … Continue reading Vintage Notebooks from My Collection
Here’s a really cool item I snagged on eBay: This is an early version of the Federal Supply Service notebooks I’ve reviewed here. I don’t know when they changed the information on the back, but from googling the Government Printing Office and the Federal Supply Service, my theory is that the US government used to … Continue reading U. S. Government Printing Office Memorandum Notebook