You’d think a headline like “Marlon Brando’s Little Black Book” would have caught my eye, but I missed this article on Slate when it was published in 2013. Marlon Brando dropped this battered address book on the stage of New York’s Barrymore Theatre while appearing in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1949. The loss of … Continue reading Marlon Brando’s Notebook
These Harvard Coop diaries mark the beginnings of my serious obsession with little black notebooks. I started using them at around the age of 9. Before that, I’d had some 3 x 5″ spiral notebooks, and I liked to get the little Hallmark month-to-a-page planners that drugstores would give out for free, but I barely … Continue reading Harvard Coop Diaries
If you are sick of all the Black Friday deal ads, rest your eyes on this! (and then visit my Amazon store! The commissions I earn from your purchases help keep this site going!)
Here’s an interesting little element of the generally sleazy and disgusting Jeffrey Epstein case: his “little black book.” From the July 22, 2019 New York Times: What’s Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Black Book? First discovered by the journalist Nick Bryant, Mr. Epstein’s little black book has resurfaced as part of the current investigation into the sex … Continue reading A History of the “Little Black Book”
Here’s another old-time favorite of mine: These are pocket sized notebooks made by Boorum & Pease and Esselte in the 1980s, with lined pages and a textured black hard cover. I look at these now and see them as a sort of proto-Moleskine. I was always looking for a nice “little black book,” in a … Continue reading Boorum & Pease/Esselte Black Notebooks
Ok, it’s not really a notebook but I like the looks of this. And no notebooks were destroyed to make it! See more at The Little Black Book by Pad&Quill.
Nrepose of Unposted tipped me off to this rather nice-looking variation on the classic moleskine-ish notebook: the Little Blue Book, from a website called The Forgetful Gentleman. (They also sell a few styles of cards, which will please all who advocate the preservation of handwritten correspondence.) This may be another case of over-the-top marketing for … Continue reading The Little Blue Book
As for the other kind of Black Friday, if you can’t handle visiting stores today, do your holiday shopping online using these links and a small commission from your purchases will help support this site: Notebook Stories Store — my collection of notebooks and other favorites available via Amazon Amazon — everything else at Amazon … Continue reading BLACK FRIDAY