Table of Contents
Denken mit der Hand
I love a good journal. One of my favorite purveyors is Leuchtturm1917.
The minimal packaging of all their goods contains this quote:
“Writing by hand is thinking on paper. Thoughts grow into words, sentences and pictures.
Memories become stories. Ideas are transformed into projects. Notes inspire insight.
We write and understand, learn, see and think—with the hand.”
Check out these fun facts about writing by hand.
Just a few of my friends…
(un) Commonplace Books
Just read a poem you don’t want to forget? Came up with a new recipe? Saw a newspaper clipping you want to… Oh. Never mind.
Commonplace books were kept for a variety of reasons, by both men and women, and by people from all walks. Take, for example, this 1779 gem from the collection at the Royal College of Physicians, titled, “A commonplace book containing medical and culinary recipes”:
This particular commonplace book contains recipes and cures, sure, but that’s not all! You’ve got some “squibs, songs and poems taken from reviews and newspapers of the period.” There are genealogical notes and original writings, including: an “Essay on the constitution of Great Britain; An essay on the education of young children; An essay on the art of decyphering etc.; An essay on the crimes of positive institution; An essay on the dangers of family connections in a free government; An essay on rewards and punishments; An essay on the right and power of juries.”
And if that wasn’t enough, there is also an "Allegorical description of human life.” What more could you want?
Some individuals, like Susanna Perkins, kept notes about, well, notes. Musical ones, that is. Her commonplace book from 1786 resides at the American Antiquarian Society:
While researching and writing Obstinate Daughters, I routinely came across commonplace books written by all sorts of people. The author of one such volume, Milcah Martha Moore, makes an appearance in the final edit of my book and I drew inspiration from the way in which she compiled her commonplace book. Women often used these books to not only keep track of their own musings, but the writings of their friends and relatives as well. Some—like Moore—eventually had their books published, thus sharing the work of other women writers in the process. There are at least 16 other authors, many of them women, featured in Moore’s commonplace book. Check it out for yourself: The Penn State University Archives published this paperback version in 1997.
Perpetually Yours
From the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University
Not sure when you want to dive in to recording your day-to-day? Try a perpetual diary. These records are not tied to any specific date—January 1 or March 27 can be whatever day of the week they need to be—and so offer a bit more flexibility. I actually use one to track the same date across several years to reflect upon my growth…or lack thereof. Here above, is an example of a kind of perpetual diary used during the 18th century, as seen in a “Journal written in Goldsmith's Almanac for 1776.”
Everything Old…
Commonplace books may have a very long history but they are also enjoying a very active 21st-century life.
Educators are using them in a variety of ways. Some use them as tools in their classrooms, while others make the commonplace book itself an assignment.
And individuals like me are using them to document, note-take, muse, and brainstorm, without broadcasting their thoughts, scribblings, and insights over social media. Of course digital commonplace books are also a thing, but I won’t get into that here. (It’s also tricky to paste an interesting snippet from a Playbill, or a swatch of fabric from an old favorite T-shirt into your computer.)
Want to get into “commonplacing” but not sure how to start? Archives have got you covered. Visit The Pubic Domain Review and take a look at physician-philosopher John Locke’s “New Method of Making Common-Place-Books.”
My research assistant gives me a lot of attitude. But I’ll keep him.
🌺 Until next time… 🌺
Okay, you have your homework.
Start amassing a few meaningful, random items, fleeting thoughts, favorite poems, box scores…whatever, and just keep them. That’s all. Just bring them together in a whole new way and see what other keepsakes and scraps want to join in. You might be surprised by what comes up, the connections you make, and the unexpected delights that await you.
With Gratitude,
