Journal 11 X 15 cm 

208 sides of plain ivory paper, 110 gsm. Suitable for fountain pen. 

FLower illustrations by John Leigh Pemberton  (1911-1997) from Ladybird Book of Garden Flowers, first published 1960. 

Front: magnolia, wallflower, alyssum, forget-me-not

Back: iris reticulata, fritillary, polyantha, grape hyacinth

Commonplace Books are a very purposeful way of using a journal, or giving one as a gift. They have been used since the Fifteenth Century, the idea being to record passages of text, poems, quotations, recipes, reading lists, drawings, sayings, family turns of phrase, calligraphy, aspirations  - any words of perceived wisdom or personal significance -  all making up a memoir of the author’s interests over a number of years. All sorts of famous people have kept Commonplace Books including John Milton, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lewis Carroll and Virginia Woolf.  A brief note about the history and use of Commonplace Books is enclosed with the book.