Commonplace Book
In the 17th century, commonplace books were popular. Commonplace books started as reading notes that were organized alphabetically by topic, and gradually turned into a catch-all term for a notebook. I have never bound using leather so this was an interesting and new endeavor which was supported by much reading and googling.
The binding closely follows some of the earliest binding methods with a few slight modifications. It was bound with raised cords that were laced into the boards before covering. The cover was laser cut on my Glowforge (so is the band around the cover). The endpapers are hand marbled and the colophon at the back was made with laser-cut woodblocks printed on the hand-marbled endpaper.
The band around the book brings to light the historical background of commonplace books to entice the customer to become part of a rich tradition of commonplace book-keepers that includes the likes of Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Mark Twain, and Henry David Thoreau. Their commonplace books and miscellanies survive to this day and are valued as historical works whereby we may catch a glimpse into the minds of those who had an influence upon the world in which we live.
