Search results for ""PAPERBLANKS""

Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867–1934) was a Polish and naturalized French scientist known for her pioneering research on radioactivity. Seemingly contradicting the principle of energy conservation, her discoveries forced a reconsideration of the foundation of physics. For this journal we have reproduced a page from one of Marie’s laboratory notebooks.

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Frederick Douglass was a former slave who became a leading abolitionist and social reformer. When too ill to continue his speaking engagements, he wrote letters of support for the anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells to take his place. With this journal cover, we celebrate the legacies of two of the most revered leaders in African American history.

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The Musée Condé is home to over 1500 antique manuscripts, including Eusebius’ Evangelica praeparatione. What makes the 1540s edition so special is that it is the “editio princeps,” or first printing, of the Evangelica, which had existed only as a manuscript. Its regal binding is reproduced for this Evangeline journal cover.

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The Musée Condé is home to over 1500 antique manuscripts, including Eusebius’ Evangelica praeparatione. What makes the 1540s edition so special is that it is the “editio princeps,” or first printing, of the Evangelica, which had existed only as a manuscript. Its regal binding is reproduced for this Evangeline journal cover.

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The kimono pattern that inspired this Hishi softcover Flexi notebook was originally a woodblock print created by Japanese art publishers for theatrical costumes. This genre of artwork, known as “ukiyo-e,” dates to the Edo period (1603–1868), and this particular design was created sometime during the early 1900s.

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Our Wordscapes Flexi softcover notebook, recreating a work by Catrin Welz-Stein, suggests the creative process of the mind’s mysterious inner workings. One can see influences and elements of children’s literature, surrealism and folklore in this image that is suggestive of our deeper natures, inviting you to enter your own Wordscapes within the book.

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Our Golden Trefoil design is inspired by a 16th-century French binding that originally housed a printing of the Opera Omnia of Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503). The design, thought to be created by Claude de Picques, features a classic trefoil (clover) motif, popularly found in some of the world’s most iconic logos, crests, insignias and flags.

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Discover Gary Grayson’s vibrantly detailed gardens in this Moon Garden journal design. A lifetime artist, Grayson’s affinity for both antique prints and modern graphic design is on display in this book cover. Grayson is an artist who defies the limitations of genre. May his boundless creativity so inspire your own expressions of imagination.

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Our Arabic Artistry journal cover design dates to the 17th century, when luxurious Arabic court life helped to inspire a supremely refined design aesthetic. The original binding our Zahra book cover reproduces is emblematic of an era when books were major investments, used as valuable donations, treasured gifts to heads of state and status symbols.

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Our Aurelia journal design is fit for a king. Its inspiration dates back to Paris in the mid-18th century and the original binding housed copies of King Louis XV’s procedures for Holy Week. This book design is a marvellous riot of gold-tooled rococo elements, featuring birds, flowers and leaves.

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A man as tormented as he was beloved, Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) overcame a life of extraordinary ups and downs to become a world-renowned playwright, author and poet. Oppressed by a largely homophobic world, Wilde remained resilient. He used his experiences to form brilliant, if controversial, literary works, including The Importance of Being Earnest. Today, he is remembered as one of the most influential writers of the Victorian era.

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Capturing the flavour of Renaissance-style binding at its zenith, this intricately embellished book cover is unique, tactile and so very pleasing to the eye. During this remarkable period in history, manuscripts were renowned for their exquisitely crafted covers made of fine moroccan leather. Brought into Europe via the flourishing trade routes to the Far and Middle East, this style of ornamentation lent a new vibrancy and lightness of design not found in medieval manuscripts.

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Capturing the flavour of Renaissance-style binding at its zenith, this intricately embellished book cover is unique, tactile and so very pleasing to the eye. During this remarkable period in history, manuscripts were renowned for their exquisitely crafted covers made of fine moroccan leather. Brought into Europe via the flourishing trade routes to the Far and Middle East, this style of ornamentation lent a new vibrancy and lightness of design not found in medieval manuscripts.

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Photographer Gérard Degeorge has travelled the world, capturing grand pieces of architectural design through the scope of his lens. This cover design comes from his vast collection of photography and is reminiscent of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The geometric pattern, floral design and arabesque setting are all suggestive of the art and architecture styles found in the western Islamic world.

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A lifelong artist, Gary Grayson’s affinity for both antique prints and modern graphic design is on display in the digital artwork behind this cover. His distinctive style is an eclectic mix of vintage vector, impressionism and pop art.

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Legend has it that hanging a Bird of Happiness in one’s home will bring good health and fortune to all who live under its warm embrace. Artist Nadezhda Sokolova, also known as Nadya Sokolova, has taken inspiration from this classic tale of Russian folklore with this Firebird design. Using her unique style of batik painting on silk, Sokolova captures the warmth and optimism of these “wood chip birds.”

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Nobility and grace are restored in our filigreed Pinnacle design. Originally crafted in 1675 by the Queens’ Binder “A,” the balance of open space and intricate elements make it a shining jewel of the period. The binding was created to hold The Government of the Tongue by Richard Allestree, provost of Eton College.

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These intricate details of spring and summer flowers are from an 18th-century Japanese paper screen by artist Watanabe Shiko (1683–1755), who painted in the Rinpa style (and was reputedly a ronin!). Rinpa is a leading historical school of Japanese painting, established in 17th-century Kyoto, whose artists were known for working in a range of formats, notably screens, fans, hanging scrolls and kimono textiles.The design on our cover shows a section of a screen with various types of blooms often believed to follow the ancient Japanese language of flowers, called Hanakotoba. We are honoured to have the use of this original work from the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Oxford.

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The eternal appeal of a floral design is captured in the work of Irish illustrator William Kilburn. The artist behind William Curtis’ book on botany, Flora Londinensis, Kilburn was also a designer and printer of calico. His seaweed motifs, like our Anemone journal design, were so iconic that he presented a dress in the pattern to Queen Charlotte!

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Laurel Burch was a self-taught artist and “?ower child” who created brilliantly coloured, vibrant and moving themes with paint and paper, all exquisitely embellished with gold and silver. On our Maria and Mares journal, Maria – one of Laurel’s closest friends – is depicted with a pair of mystical horses.

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Our Arabic Artistry cover design dates to the 17th century, when luxurious Arabic court life helped to inspire a supremely refined design aesthetic. The original binding our Zahra Flexi softcover notebook reproduces is emblematic of an era when books were major investments, used as valuable donations, treasured gifts to heads of state and status symbols.

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Our Dumas’ 150th Anniversary Special Edition pencil case celebrates the great lion of French literature, Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870). It features a handwritten draft of The Count of Monte Cristo as well as Dumas’ signature. Over his career Dumas wrote nearly one hundred thousand pages and is today among the world’s most widely read authors.

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Our Blue Velvet journal design is inspired by a piece of a 15th-century velvet dalmatic. It is decorated in brocaded gilt metal thread with a seven-lobed shield, an artichoke-like botanical shape and tiny floral patterns. Creating a velvet design such as this would have been a painstaking procedure, making this a luxury fabric during the Renaissance.

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Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, physicist, futurist and engineer. This journal features a sketch of his turbine research, reproducing a document held in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade. Today, Tesla’s legacy endures mostly notably in Tesla, Inc., which specializes in electric vehicles, solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.

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Our Kuro journal cover showcases a reproduction of an original piece of katagami art. It reproduces a stencil crafted from mulberry bark and persimmon juice. Such stencils are found throughout Japanese culture. The word Kuro means “dark” or “black” in Japanese and it’s the perfect title for this hauntingly shadowed design.

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Taking their slightly sullen cues from previous artistic movements, the New Romantics of the 1980s brought their hairstyles and attitudes to new prominence. Our Velvet Cape journal celebrates the drama that made the New Romantic movement some of the most ironic good times popular culture has ever had.

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Guiseppe Verdi’s (1813–1901) instincts for finding the right material led him to create works that virtually define the general public’s understanding of opera, such as Aida and Rigoletto. Featured on our Verdi, Carteggio journal cover is an excerpt from his correspondence. May his legacy inspire your own hand.

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The Safavid Dynasty is often considered to represent the Islamic Golden Age, with its artists and creative methods still celebrated today. This Safavid Indigo pencil case incorporates the symmetry and filigree designs that are the hallmarks of this binding tradition.

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Picnics, summer holidays and lashings of ginger beer… it’s hard not to picture the stories of Enid Blyton when thinking of these nostalgic moments. A prolific writer, Blyton penned over 700 books and thousands of short stories that captured an idyllic childhood full of adventure in the countryside. A common theme in Blyton’s writing is the atmospheric representation of life in a rural landscape. Though her works spanned multiple genres, it was stories that focused on family that were her favourite to write. One of Blyton’s most popular works was The Famous Five, a series of children’s adventure stories that centre around a group of four cousins – Julian, Dick, Anne and George – and George’s dog, Timmy. Reproduced here are the illustrations from the covers of two books in the series, Five on a Treasure Island and Five on Finniston Farm. These classic images are the works of Eileen Soper, whose illustrations bring the wonderfully nostalgic

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Ignite your creativity with fiery Fiammetta. This sensuous Baroque-inspired cover comes from a 1725 binding of The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, a masterpiece of Italian literature. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) was an Italian writer and poet who helped lay the foundations of Renaissance humanism. His defining work, The Decameron, is a collection of novellas, each narrated by one of ten main characters who find shelter from the Black Death in a secluded villa just outside Florence in 1348. There are tales of witty practical jokes, lustful romantic entanglements and tragic, real-life consequences. With its scope from humour to tragedy and its vivid narrative structure, The Decameron remains an affirmation of humanity and moral values even when read today. This 18th-century binding of The Decameron is now held at the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France. With golden flowers and arabesques bursting forth from a rich, red background, our Fiammetta design, named for one

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Inside the original 1910 version of this sumptuous binding laid one of the oldest and most effortlessly romantic stories ever written. The gilt and crushed blue levant morocco binding by Émile-Philippe Mercier contained Jacques Amyot’s French translation of the tale Daphnis and Chloe. The original story was composed by the second-century Greek author Longus, a little-known writer assumed to have been a freedman of a Roman family. Daphnis and Chloe were the fictional lovers against whom all others can be measured. Their story was the inspiration for one of contemporary cinema’s most beloved films, The Princess Bride. Daphnis and Chloe were naïve lovers separated by pirate abductions and battles aplenty. But love prevails and in the end they are restored to pastoral, wedded bliss.  

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Inside the original 1910 version of this sumptuous binding laid one of the oldest and most effortlessly romantic stories ever written. The gilt and crushed blue levant morocco binding by Émile-Philippe Mercier contained Jacques Amyot’s French translation of the tale Daphnis and Chloe. The original story was composed by the second-century Greek author Longus, a little-known writer assumed to have been a freedman of a Roman family. Daphnis and Chloe were the fictional lovers against whom all others can be measured. Their story was the inspiration for one of contemporary cinema’s most beloved films, The Princess Bride. Daphnis and Chloe were naïve lovers separated by pirate abductions and battles aplenty. But love prevails and in the end they are restored to pastoral, wedded bliss.  

Read more less

Inside the original 1910 version of this sumptuous binding laid one of the oldest and most effortlessly romantic stories ever written. The gilt and crushed blue levant morocco binding by Émile-Philippe Mercier contained Jacques Amyot’s French translation of the tale Daphnis and Chloe. The original story was composed by the second-century Greek author Longus, a little-known writer assumed to have been a freedman of a Roman family. Daphnis and Chloe were the fictional lovers against whom all others can be measured. Their story was the inspiration for one of contemporary cinema’s most beloved films, The Princess Bride. Daphnis and Chloe were naïve lovers separated by pirate abductions and battles aplenty. But love prevails and in the end they are restored to pastoral, wedded bliss.  

Read more less

Inside the original 1910 version of this sumptuous binding laid one of the oldest and most effortlessly romantic stories ever written. The gilt and crushed blue levant morocco binding by Émile-Philippe Mercier contained Jacques Amyot’s French translation of the tale Daphnis and Chloe. The original story was composed by the second-century Greek author Longus, a little-known writer assumed to have been a freedman of a Roman family. Daphnis and Chloe were the fictional lovers against whom all others can be measured. Their story was the inspiration for one of contemporary cinema’s most beloved films, The Princess Bride. Daphnis and Chloe were naïve lovers separated by pirate abductions and battles aplenty. But love prevails and in the end they are restored to pastoral, wedded bliss.  

Read more less

Showcasing silk dyed with beni (the pigment extracted from safflower petals) and lacquered in gold, this kimono design dates to the Edo period (1615–1868). It was originally used as a costume for the theatrical style known as Noh. Karaori refers specifically to the exquisitely embroidered woman’s kimono that traditional Noh theatre was known for. Both the material itself and the pattern depicted would have helped tell the story of the character. In this case, the stiff brocade creates a thick, glossed fabric that would not drape easily – this created an angular effect evoking the spirit of a noblewoman. The pattern of flowering grasses emphasized the character’s femininity. By the Meiji period (1868–1912) Noh had reached such heights that it was widely introduced overseas, and today there are still more than 70 Noh theatres throughout Japan. This beautiful example of karaori costuming can now be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is our great pleasu

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Showcasing silk dyed with beni (the pigment extracted from safflower petals) and lacquered in gold, this kimono design dates to the Edo period (1615–1868). It was originally used as a costume for the theatrical style known as Noh. Karaori refers specifically to the exquisitely embroidered woman’s kimono that traditional Noh theatre was known for. Both the material itself and the pattern depicted would have helped tell the story of the character. In this case, the stiff brocade creates a thick, glossed fabric that would not drape easily – this created an angular effect evoking the spirit of a noblewoman. The pattern of flowering grasses emphasized the character’s femininity. By the Meiji period (1868–1912) Noh had reached such heights that it was widely introduced overseas, and today there are still more than 70 Noh theatres throughout Japan. This beautiful example of karaori costuming can now be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is our great pleasu

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This design pays tribute to an 18th-century binding that housed the Khamsa, a seminal work by Persian Sunni Muslim poet Nizami Ganjavi (c. 1141–1209). Featuring intricate floral detail, our Layla cover design beautifully mirrors the contents of the original volume. Considered the greatest romantic poet in Persian literature and described as a “creator of poetic scenes,” Nizami brought a colloquial and otherworldly quality to the Persian epic. His best-known work, the Khamsa (also known in English as the Five Treasures), is a series of five long narrative poems. The first of these, Makhzan-ol-Asrâr, was influenced by Sanai Ghaznavi’s The Walled Garden of Truth, an early Sufi book of mystical poetry. The four other poems are medieval romances. His tragic story of star-crossed lovers Layla and Majnun has famously inspired many contemporary artists with its theme of unrequited love. The delicately adorned cover of this Layla journal, the second title in our Pe

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Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), a Spanish architect from Catalonia, was one of the greatest pioneers of 19th-century architecture. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized style, defined by his unique compositions, organic shapes and kaleidoscopic designs. They transcend not only mainstream Modernism, but traditional art forms. Perhaps Gaudí’s most-loved contribution to his city of Barcelona is Park Güell, a vibrant garden filled with his art. Reproduced here is a section of a mosaic sun on the ceiling of the park’s Hypostyle Room, alongside the abstract lines from his chimney pots at the Casa Milà building. Gaudí’s last work of civic architecture, Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera) represented a break with the conventions of his day, designed as a totally undulating building with a beating heart like a living being. Gaudí’s fascination with the geometry of nature stemmed from his deep religious dev

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Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) was a French painter who is regarded as one of the greatest of the post-Impressionists. Often called the “Father of Modern Art,” his works and ideas were influential in the aesthetic development of many 20th-century artists and art movements. Reproduced here is a work from his later years, Terracotta Pots and Flowers (1891–1892), which saw Cézanne enter a new world of still life painting. This change in pace exemplified his desire for a new form of personal expression as he sought to slow down and draw focus back to the everyday. Terracotta Pots and Flowers showcases Cézanne’s intense study of still life compositions. His works such as this one explored the connections and harmonies between everyday objects. Here he arranges a red cloth, a rum bottle with straw binding and a light blue pitcher with potted geraniums inside the greenhouse at his father’s estate near Aix-en-Provence. We are honoured to featu

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Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) was a French painter who is regarded as one of the greatest of the post-Impressionists. Often called the “Father of Modern Art,” his works and ideas were influential in the aesthetic development of many 20th-century artists and art movements. Reproduced here is a work from his later years, Terracotta Pots and Flowers (1891–1892), which saw Cézanne enter a new world of still life painting. This change in pace exemplified his desire for a new form of personal expression as he sought to slow down and draw focus back to the everyday. Terracotta Pots and Flowers showcases Cézanne’s intense study of still life compositions. His works such as this one explored the connections and harmonies between everyday objects. Here he arranges a red cloth, a rum bottle with straw binding and a light blue pitcher with potted geraniums inside the greenhouse at his father’s estate near Aix-en-Provence. We are honoured to featu

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Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were pioneers in the field of folklore, collecting stories through Germany’s rich oral tradition in order to preserve a history that might otherwise have been lost forever. In doing so, they popularized some of today’s most enduring fairy tales. “The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry” was the first tale in the 1812 edition of Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen). It tells the story of a spoiled princess who reluctantly befriends a frog who, unbeknownst to her, is actually a prince under a sorcerer’s spell. In the original tale, the curse is lifted when the princess throws the frog against a brick wall in anger, but in later years the Brothers Grimm sanitized the story, turning it into the tale we know today. The Grimms’ impact was so profound that it is hard to imagine a world without these stories as they continue to be passed down through generations. We are honoured to reproduce this manuscript from the Bodmer

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Reproducing a gold stamped, dark brown leather binding designed by Alice Cordelia Morse, Pacifica represents a spirit of grand adventure. The original binding was crafted to hold William Seward Webb’s California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway, a well-regarded travelogue first published in 1890. This exquisite edition was produced as a deluxe gift book and was limited to only 500 copies. Morse held the belief that the book designer must take the central idea of the book and creatively depict it on the cover. For this binding, one can imagine her creating train tracks crisscrossing a map, or perhaps even the spokes of a compass, in the gold stamping she patterned.  

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Get ready to follow your creative train of thought with Pacifica! Reproducing a gold stamped, dark brown leather binding designed by Alice Cordelia Morse, Pacifica represents a spirit of grand adventure. The original binding was crafted to hold William Seward Webb’s California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway, a well-regarded travelogue first published in 1890. This exquisite edition was produced as a deluxe gift book and was limited to only 500 copies. The copy reproduced here is now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Library in New York City. As an artist, Morse maintained the belief that the book designer must take the central idea of the book and creatively depict it on the cover. For this binding, one can imagine her creating train tracks crisscrossing a map, or perhaps even the spokes of a compass, in the gold stamping she patterned. Travel is said to broaden the mind, so it is our hope that our Iron Horse design will inspire your creativity and expressi

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Get ready to follow your creative train of thought with Pacifica! Reproducing a gold stamped, dark brown leather binding designed by Alice Cordelia Morse, Pacifica represents a spirit of grand adventure. The original binding was crafted to hold William Seward Webb’s California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway, a well-regarded travelogue first published in 1890. This exquisite edition was produced as a deluxe gift book and was limited to only 500 copies. The copy reproduced here is now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Library in New York City. As an artist, Morse maintained the belief that the book designer must take the central idea of the book and creatively depict it on the cover. For this binding, one can imagine her creating train tracks crisscrossing a map, or perhaps even the spokes of a compass, in the gold stamping she patterned. Travel is said to broaden the mind, so it is our hope that our Iron Horse design will inspire your creativity and expressi

Read more less

Get ready to follow your creative train of thought with Pacifica! Reproducing a gold stamped, dark brown leather binding designed by Alice Cordelia Morse, Pacifica represents a spirit of grand adventure. The original binding was crafted to hold William Seward Webb’s California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway, a well-regarded travelogue first published in 1890. This exquisite edition was produced as a deluxe gift book and was limited to only 500 copies. The copy reproduced here is now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Library in New York City. As an artist, Morse maintained the belief that the book designer must take the central idea of the book and creatively depict it on the cover. For this binding, one can imagine her creating train tracks crisscrossing a map, or perhaps even the spokes of a compass, in the gold stamping she patterned. Travel is said to broaden the mind, so it is our hope that our Iron Horse design will inspire your creativity and expressi

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This gold-tooled design comes from a 1990s binding crafted by Scott Husby, who used fragments from the early 1800s to create a beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Originally published in 1623, Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (or, First Folio) is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare’s plays, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night.Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable books in the world, with one being sold in 2001 for over $6 million. There are only 235 surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed, and the Folger holds nearly one third of them, including the binding reproduced here.

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Luxuriate in the brass and regal blue tones of this Blue Luxe cover design. The original book, crafted in the heart of Amsterdam in 1715, was bound in goatskin with elaborate gold tooling. Contained inside the volume was the Oratio Dominica (Lord’s Prayer) in almost 150 languages and dialects, compiled by English courtier John Chamberlayne, creating a document of global appeal.The intricate details of this design reflect the tapestry of cultures in its original pages. The translations spanned from Europe and Asia to Arabia, Persia, Syria and Turkey. Chamberlayne, who was a writer and translator, spoke 16 languages himself.Let the many cultures that once lived within this 18th-century binding inspire you against Blue Luxe’s opulent backdrop.

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Legend has it that hanging a Bird of Happiness in one’s home will bring good health and fortune to all who live under its warm embrace. Artist Nadezhda Sokolova, also known as Nadya Sokolova, has taken inspiration from this classic tale of Russian folklore with this Firebird design. Using her unique style of batik painting on silk, Sokolova captures the warmth and optimism of these “wood chip birds.”Similar to the Slavic story of the Firebird, the Bird of Happiness, or Pomor dove, is a symbol of family happiness and also represents the sun. It comes from the story of a hunter who carved such a bird for his sick son. When he hung the carving above his son’s bed, it magically came to life, with the boy exclaiming “Here is the sun!” as he experienced a miraculous recovery. Today, the birds are often hung in multiple spots inside the home where the movement of warm air brings them to life, spinning them in a circle where they hang.With this bright and lively image, it is our hope that these flaming red birds of lore will bring good luck to your own life and brighten up a dark spot in any home.

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