Lined journal, 240 sides of 110 gsm smooth ivory paper. 

This stunning design is from an original painting, gouache on paper of 1982, collection of Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell, used with the permission of Sarah Campbell. Copyright Sarah Campbell Ltd, 2021. 

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.