Search results for ""PAPERBLANKS""

Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) was a Spanish architect who was known as a leading figure in Modernism and the pioneer of Catalan Art Nouveau. Gaudí’s work was greatly influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature and religion. His exceptional style is characterized by the depiction of organic forms, abstract lines and extraordinary mosaics. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. As such he left very few written documents, and many of those he did leave were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War riots. Reproduced here is the Manuscrito de Reus (Manuscript of Reus), the only remaining written document of Gaudí’s. The notebook, which is a collection of his diverse impressions of architecture, is now kept at Reus Museum in his native Catalonia. Further embellishing our cover are Gaudí’s incredible mosaics

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Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) was a Spanish architect who was known as a leading figure in Modernism and the pioneer of Catalan Art Nouveau. Gaudí’s work was greatly influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature and religion. His exceptional style is characterized by the depiction of organic forms, abstract lines and extraordinary mosaics. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. As such he left very few written documents, and many of those he did leave were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War riots. Reproduced here is the Manuscrito de Reus (Manuscript of Reus), the only remaining written document of Gaudí’s. The notebook, which is a collection of his diverse impressions of architecture, is now kept at Reus Museum in his native Catalonia. Further embellishing our cover are Gaudí’s incredible mosaics

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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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The iconic Hawaiian shirt pays homage to one of the world’s most extraordinary landscapes and to the philosophical mores of Island culture. From the first kapa fabrics, Hawaiian “tiki-style” textiles have always infused the natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands with the joyful aloha spirit. Contemporary designs featuring exuberant flower and foliage prints, including those gracing our cover, continue to capture the essence of aloha.Nature Montages: Tropical GardenGary Grayson’s vibrantly detailed cover art transports us to a tropical paradise! The artist’s affinity for both antique prints and modern graphic design is the foundation of his digital art style. His work is an eclectic mix of vintage vector, impressionism and pop art – all on display in this Tropical Garden design. May his boundless creativity so inspire your own expressions of imagination.

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Brian Froud has drawn inspiration from the landscapes of the English moorlands to create an unparalleled body of creative work. He is the genius behind Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. It is a scene from his newly released enhanced edition of the classic book Brian Froud’s World of Faerie that is reproduced for our Mischievous Creatures journal design.

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Inspired by an 1893 binding of The Poems by William Blake (1757–1827), this design features delicate golden wildflowers. The original volume, crafted in Britain by Zaehnsdorf bindery, had endpapers made of pink floral silk. The botanical beauty of this binding reflects the reverence for the natural world felt by poets of the Romantic era. Now considered one of the greatest artistic and literary geniuses of the 18th and 19th centuries, Blake embraced the divine imagination, often using flowers as a metaphor for joy. Echoing the tune of Blake’s imagination and respect for nature, this Wildflower Song design is sure to make your spirit sing.

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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 Peacock Punk bookmark 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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For over a century, the Cockerell and Son Bindery represented a tradition of the highest quality bookmaking. The Bindery remains especially celebrated for their unique style of paper marbling, developed by the late Sydney (Sandy) M. Cockerell.Described as a “latter-day Leonardo,” Sandy Cockerell possessed not only an artist’s talents, but a scientist’s mind and engineer’s skill as well. He took the painstaking tradition of handmade marbled papers and found a way to produce the strikingly complex designs at high speeds and volumes. We are honoured to bring one of his iconic marbled papers to our collection with this black, white and red Rubedo design.

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More sumptuous than even the finest arrangement, our Van Huysum journal cover is based on a painting by Jan van Huysum (1682–1749). Van Huysum is perhaps the greatest master of that most revered subject in the Dutch artistic canon: the flower. A seduction of the eye and a jolt of passion for the soul, this still life is anything but static.

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Let a swirl of turquoise inspire you to write your chronicles. This cover is based on the binding for a book titled Chroniques, published by Salel Binder in Paris in 1514. The exuberance of the design reflects the splendour of the Renaissance approach to decoration. In this green-blue journal cover you may see the intricacies of your own stories.

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The Adventures of Asterix, our series in partnership with Les Éditions Albert René, channels the spirit of Asterix the Gaul from the celebrated comic book series. In these stories, Asterix, along with his friend Obelix and canine companion Dogmatix, ventures to lands near and far with unwavering ingenuity and just a little bit of magic potion.

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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!). Beautiful gold accents make up every intricacy of the leaves and flowers in this rich and romantic composition.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 flowers often believed to follow the ancient Japanese language of flowers, called Hanakotoba. Flowers were used to convey emotion and communicate with the viewer without using words.We are honoured to have the use of this original work from the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Oxford, where Japanese material has been exhibited since the earliest stages of the Museum’s history.

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English writer Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Gothic horror novel, Frankenstein, considered to be one of the first works of science fiction, tells of a scientist who creates a sentient being in a morality-pushing experiment.The story came to life during an 1816 trip that Shelley undertook with fellow Romantic era writers. The group travelled along the Rhine, stopping near Frankenstein Castle where an alchemist was said to have engaged in mysterious experiments two centuries before, and the group’s conversations were dominated by topics such as galvanism and the occult. When Lord Byron suggested a competition to see who could write the best ghost story, Shelley drew upon these experiences, as well as her own feelings of grief and guilt over the loss of a child, to craft her story.Frankenstein tackles universal questions such as “What is my purpose” and “Why am I here” – questions that always have, and always will, resonate with reading audiences. Today, Mary Shelley’s handwritten draft of Frankenstein is held at Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford.

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Unheralded wildflowers and weeds are given a voice in our Vox Botanica series, featuring the work of celebrated Art Nouveau illustrator Anton Seder (1850–1916).This particular piece, originally chromolithograph on paper, comes from one of his best-known works, Die Pflanze in Kunst und Gewerbe, or The Plant in Art and Trade. Published in Vienna in 1890, it offers two volumes of stunning prints gracefully depicting elements of nature. Seder’s harmonious use of space, plethora of details and candid depiction of natural elements drew us to this piece. With this series, we herald Seder’s unique voice and vision for his plants in a new era of art and trade.

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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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Repetition and detail help to create this meditation on the nature of beauty. This Silver Filigree cover was originally designed in Germany in the early 1800s. To achieve the gilded motif, a base layer of silver sheets was first die cut, and elaborate grooves were then etched into its surface. Combining the Latin words filum (thread) and granum (seed), “filigree” describes an art form that is a testament to the human drive to ornament.

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This stately gold-tooled design comes from a unique 1990s binding crafted by book conservator Scott Husby, who pulled together fragments from the early 1800s to create a beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Originally published in 1623 in London and containing 36 of Shakespeare’s plays, Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (known as the First Folio) is one of the most influential books ever published. It is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare’s plays, 18 of which had previously never been printed, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night.Today, there are only 235 surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed. Due to its influence and scarcity, the First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world, with one being sold at auction in 2001 for over $6 million. The Folger Shakespeare Library itself holds 82 copies of the First Folio in their collection. We are honoured to introduce this beautiful and unique binding as our first reproduction from the Library’s unparalleled collection.

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This beautiful jewel-toned purple and gold design is a shining star of bookbinding history.Originally crafted from red morocco leather with intricate filigree and golden pointellé, the binding has been in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF) since the Second Empire (1865–1870). It was designed by an unknown Parisian atelier to hold the Pars Hiemalis (or, winter) section of the Parisian Brevarium, a book that dictated the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church throughout the church year.The binding’s contents were printed in 1645 by S. and G. Cramoisy, one of the first secular workshops given authority to print liturgical works for the Catholic Church. However, this manuscript and binding was likely produced for a book collector rather than having been used in service. With such brilliant filigree work, it is easy to see why a noted bibliophile of the era would commission the piece, and why the BnF would so proudly hold it in their collection for the last two centuries.

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This striking Art Deco design comes from the celebrated British bookbinder Sybil Pye (1879–1959). It was crafted to hold a collection of William Wordsworth’s poems illustrated by Pye’s lifelong friend Thomas Sturge Moore.Self-taught, Pye began producing her first works in the early 1900s using naturally coloured leather, before graduating to multi-coloured panels. By 1934 she was creating complex covers of up to six different inlays, and her work was regularly exhibited around the world. One of the youngest pre–First World War women binders, Pye was the only binder in England who specialized in inlaid leather bindings. With this series, we pay tribute to a pioneering woman in the art of book design.

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For over a century, the Cockerell and Son Bindery represented a tradition of the highest quality bookmaking. The Bindery remains especially celebrated for their unique style of paper marbling, developed by the late Sydney (Sandy) M. Cockerell.Described as a “latter-day Leonardo,” Sandy Cockerell possessed not only an artist’s talents, but a scientist’s mind and engineer’s skill as well. He took the painstaking tradition of handmade marbled papers and found a way to produce the strikingly complex designs at high speeds and volumes. We are honoured to bring one of his iconic marbled papers to our collection with this black, white and red Rubedo design.

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The eternal appeal of a classic floral design is captured in the work of Irish illustrator William Kilburn (1745–1818). The artist behind William Curtis’ Flora Londinensis, a comprehensive book on 18th-century English botany, Kilburn was also a leading designer and printer of calico.With winding twigs, colourful petals and undulating seaweed, Kilburn’s unique ability to blend local flora with exotic plants is on full display in this design. This characteristic sense of creative freedom became so sought after that by the late 1700s his style was widely imitated. To protect his signature patterns, Kilburn became an activist for artists’ rights, fighting in court to defend copyright in the textile industry.Sadly, Kilburn was unsuccessful in stopping his designs from being copied, and he died bankrupt in 1818. It is our honour to bring an original William Kilburn print back to life here. His name may not be familiar, but we see Kilburn’s influence in the work of textile artists like William Morris who have followed in his footsteps, and in the copyright laws that protect artists today.

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Artistic, religious and cultural traditions unite in the handwoven fabric of this Sacred Tibetan Textiles design. For centuries, Muslim families in Varanasi, India, have practiced the art of handweaving silks to create cloths and vestments for sacred rituals. The fabric reproduced on this cover comes straight from the Kasim Silk Emporium in Varanasi and is an authentic expression of the weaver’s cultural heritage. In this design, created for a Buddhist monastery, the weavers have portrayed the path to enlightenment, both in the symbolic pattern and in the brightness of the colours chosen.With this Sacred Tibetan Textiles journal, we pay tribute to the rich heritage of Indian handweaving and to the craftspeople who continue this devotional practice today.

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This delicate foliage pattern was crafted to adorn a 17th-century binding of the Passion Series, originally created in 1521 by the great engraver Lucas van Leyden. This edition contains Jan Harmensz. Muller’s 17th-century copy of the original work. As an artist, Muller was best known for his skillful reinterpretations of the work of his predecessors. It is only thanks to a small engraving of Muller’s name that we know this is a reproduction.

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Reproducing an original work by designer Pierre Legrain (1889–1929), this cover brings a sense of movement to the heavy geometric elements of its Art Deco influence.Legrain was a key figure in early 20th-century French bookbinding. After leaving the French Army in 1916, Legrain became recognized for his eye for design and was commissioned by Jacques Doucet, a French bibliophile and collector, to create unique bindings for Doucet’s impressive library. Adopting an attitude of experimentation, Doucet encouraged Legrain to be “freely inspired by contemporary artists’ vibrantly coloured mosaics, bold play with geometric forms and straight-lined bands.”

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Our Safavid Indigo design reproduces a leather filigree pattern incorporating handtooled motifs, retaining the elegance and style of the Islamic Golden Age even in our modern context. Originally released in a classic brown leather look, this new deep blue colour scheme pays tribute to the darkest tone of Persian Blue.

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This lovely, organic pattern comes from the illustrious carpet-making traditions of the Moldavian people. By mixing ideals of beauty and harmony with folk mysticism and mythology, Moldavian craftspeople elevate everyday carpets to works of spiritual and cultural expression. This particular design comes from a contemporary rug manufacturer, Floare Carpet, who design their floor coverings in the traditional ways.

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This fiery 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. 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.

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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 of the book’s main characters, is sure to spark your imagination and let your passions flow.

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During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the Emperor Taizong founded an opera school called Liyuan (Pear Garden). Chinese opera reached its pinnacle under the Qing court (1644–1911), giving birth to what is known as Peking Opera. Reproduced for this colourful hardcover journal is a piece of beautifully embroidered opera skirt from that era.

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During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the Emperor Taizong founded an opera school called Liyuan (Pear Garden). Chinese opera reached its pinnacle under the Qing court (1644–1911), giving birth to what is known as Peking Opera. Reproduced for this colourful hardcover journal is a piece of beautifully embroidered opera skirt from that era.

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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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Our Blue Velvet softcover Flexi notebook 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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Our Blue Velvet softcover Flexi notebook 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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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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Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell’s dystopian piece of science fiction, introduced terms such as “Big Brother” and “thoughtcrime” into our social lexicon and is still widely read today. Only one handwritten copy of Nineteen Eighty-Four survives, and we are honoured to partner with Brown University to reproduce it on this journal cover.

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Brilliant fireworks are conjured up by this magnificent journal cover which reproduces the binding La Déclamation Théâtrale (1766), a didactic poem by Claude J. Dorat. Scorned by critics, Dorat persisted in writing an explosion of works. Though his legacy is not that of a major master, one cannot help but admire his incandescent desire to create.

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From sunlight sparkling on water to the startling hues of incomparable architecture, Venice enchants the eye. We have captured some of the splendid daybreak palette of the ancient city with this striking journal. Our Fiamma cover is inspired by a 1600s Renaissance binding which was crafted from red morocco leather with fine gold borders.

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In our Moonlight Stories journal, we feature classical characters from children’s literature drawn by artist Tim Bowers. With his bold and timeless use of colour and line, Bowers captures the charm of these iconic characters. Tim Bowers’ art has found a place in countless hearts, young and old.

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Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) 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 and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells (1862–1931) to take his place. With the letter reproduced here, we celebrate the legacies of Douglass and Wells – two of the most revered leaders in African American history.

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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.

Read more less

Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867–1934) was a Polish and naturalized French scientist best 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 book cover we have reproduced a page from one of Marie’s notebooks containing her calculations precisely measuring the radium and thorium content of minerals.

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This cover design is based on a binding originally published by Salel Binder in Paris in 1514. The tome, Chroniques, was created at a time when books were evolving and binders were using smaller formats that were easier to bind. Pasteboards replaced wood covers and gold tooling grew in popularity. The exuberance of the Chroniques design reflects the sheer splendour of the Renaissance approach to decoration that influenced architecture, art and all facets of cultural life.

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Laurel Burch was a self-taught artist who created brilliantly coloured, vibrant and moving themes. In this design, her original characters, foliage and other details have been adapted by a Japanese artisan to create a new watercolour painting.

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Nobility and grace are restored in our filigreed cover 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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This cover design is based on a binding originally published by Salel Binder in Paris in 1514. The tome, Chroniques, was created at a time when books were evolving and binders were using smaller formats that were easier to bind. Pasteboards replaced wood covers and gold tooling grew in popularity. The exuberance of the Chroniques design reflects the sheer splendour of the Renaissance approach to decoration that influenced architecture, art and all facets of cultural life.

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Virginia Woolf wrote with insight about the uncertainty of everyday life. Her novel The Waves, drafted in a series of notebooks including the one reproduced here, is made up of soliloquies spoken by the main characters. Today, the notebooks are a part of The New York Public Library’s Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature and are featured in the Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library’s Treasures.

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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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Laurel Burch was a self-taught artist who created brilliantly coloured, vibrant and moving themes with paint and paper, exquisitely embellished with gold and silver. Her celestial theme has evolved over the years in a brilliant colour palette emblazoned with shimmering details of silver and gold, including rainbow-hued fish and sprays of colourful flowers cavorting with her suns, moons and stars.

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