Help me find a high quality notebook

August 25, 2017 11:11 AM

I'm looking for a high quality notebook that will be part of a gift. There have been similar questions on this topic, but all the ones I found have different requirements. Anonymous because this gift is for someone who knows my MeFi username.

I'd like to give someone a gift of poems and writings that I will hand-write in a beautiful notebook. Here are the things I am looking for out of this notebook:

- Binding/cover: hardcover, leather bound, or something with fairly secure refillable pages. I like the look of the Kaufmann Mercantile refillable notebooks but they appear to only be selling refill pages right now, not the book itself. Refillability is appealing because it takes some of the pressure off of the hand-writing part, but a more securely bound book would also be good. I'd like this to be a gift that lasts for years.
- Paper: acid-free. Blank or lined paper is okay.
- Aesthetic: I'd much rather have something elegant, simple, and well-constructed than something ornately beautiful. A lot of the Paperblanks journals are a bit too loud for my taste.
- Size: something roughly A5-ish would be good, but this is pretty flexible.
- Miscellaneous: I'm not terribly wild about books that have an elastic strap that keeps the book closed.

I'm not too concerned about the price, but where should I look for a really nice notebook like this?

posted by anonymous to Shopping (5 answers total)

Not a recommendation as such, but I'd spend some time at places like Goulet so you can see what's out there.

For a specific recommendation: I have several Leuchtturm 1917 hardbound notebooks and like everything about them except the very slight amount of ghosting that is visible through the back of the paper. Depending on your color choice and your feelings about color, these are classic, elegant, well-made hardbound notebooks. Not refillable. Acid-free.
posted by gauche at 11:21 AM on August 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

If you search etsy for leather refillable notebooks, some lovely options come up, an option which has the added benefit of being handmade and sold directly by the maker(s) and in many cases has the option of personalizing the cover (with embossed monogram or with a type of closure, for example).
posted by pammeke at 11:40 AM on August 25, 2017

I like Baron Fig notebooks, they have cloth cover, are simple, acid-free, and open flat. You can also add a leather cover.
posted by TheGoodBlood at 12:39 PM on August 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

You might look over the Moo notebook. It comes with a slipcase, which I think is a nice touch.
posted by rewil at 12:48 PM on August 25, 2017

I use and love Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks. You can get them on Amazon too. They have gorgeous paper, printed indexes, nice wide pages and they work beautifully with every pen I've tried them with. You can also get them in all kinds of cover colours and ruled, plain, dotted etc.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:27 AM on August 26, 2017 [3 favorites]