A nice little piece in the New York Times about keeping a commonplace book, by Charley Locke: I’ve never been a journal person, though not for lack of trying. A monogrammed duffel bag in my parents’ basement holds many old diaries — a furry leopard-print one from elementary school, Moleskines with unbroken spines from college … Continue reading On Keeping a Commonplace Book
Back in 2017, I posted about artist Stanley Whitney and his sketchbooks. I hadn’t heard of him before reading about an exhibition and book featuring his sketchbooks, but I remembered him well when I saw his name on the front page of the NY Times Arts section this past weekend. Stanley Whitney Dances With Matisse … Continue reading Stanley Whitney in the New York Times
I’m sure everyone’s seen the rather disturbing news about the arrival in the US of the “Murder Hornet.” These scary bugs, more formally known as the Asian Giant Hornet, have a nasty sting and a habit of decapitating bees. And they’re huge! How huge are they? Up to two inches long, as shown in the … Continue reading The Murder Hornet Notebook
Such an amazing story from the NY Times, with lots of images of the diaries! Anne Frank listened in an Amsterdam attic on March 28, 1944, as the voice of the Dutch minister of education came crackling over the radio from London. “Preserve your diaries and letters,†he said. Frank was not the only one listening. … Continue reading Dutch Diaries of World War II
The February 29th New York Times has a piece by Tess Taylor, talking about her pilgrimage to California, to visit as many places photographed by Dorothea Lange as she can. She also read Lange’s pocket notebooks, now archived at the Oakland Museum of California. Ms. Lange, best known for her Depression-era photographs of migrant laborers, … Continue reading Dorothea Lange’s Notebooks
I spotted this in the New York Times Magazine of November 17, 2019. It is one of the saddest, most infuriating, most shameful notebook pages I’ve featured, as it was drawn by a young man who was incarcerated in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, and then ended up serving in the military … Continue reading Notebook Page from a Japanese Internment Camp
Betye Saar is a 93 year old artist I hadn’t heard of until reading about her in the New York Times Fall Preview. She is getting a lot of attention right now, with two major solo exhibitions this fall at MoMA and LACMA. Betye Saar’s sketchbooks play an important role in her work: Everywhere she … Continue reading Betye Saar’s Sketchbooks
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
Here’s a few interesting links you may enjoy: For Sale: A POW Journal Documenting World War II’s ‘Great Escape’ from Atlas Obscura (Thanks to Mark for the tip!) THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD War II’s most iconic prisoner-of-war escape is less than two weeks away, on March 24, 2019. Just in time, Hansons Auctioneers in England is offering … Continue reading Links I Liked, Late March Edition
Neat article about the original Bigelow pharmacy store in NYC. They have a collection of artifacts which includes old notebooks of recipes for medicines! Established in 1838 by Dr. Galen Hunter, the store was originally called the Village Apothecary Shoppe. In 1880, Clarence Otis Bigelow purchased it and renamed it after himself, moving it 22 … Continue reading A Notebook from the C.O. Bigelow Apothecary