Some years ago, my wife and I were investigating the shelves of our local Chapter’s book store. We had a few paperbacks for ourselves and the kids, when I started looking through the paper and notebooks. Now, I have to admit up front that I am a sucker for classic, leather-bound journals and notebooks, but what I saw there were absolutely gorgeous, and we walked away with two leather journals; this one is mine…

The leather of this journal is a soft, supple cover, with a lightly textured finish, and just a hint of that musky, old-leather scent when you open it up. Everything about it says quality, handmade product. In fact, it says it literally on the inside back cover, Handmade in Italy. There’s a nice heft to the book, and although it doesn’t say—anywhere I can find—just what kind of paper they use, that doesn’t let the package down. It has a nice, off-white, smooth finish, and is heavy enough to use both sides without any bleedthrough, or feathering; even using the Platinum 3776 Century’s music nib, and a lot of J. Herbin Perle Noire ink. Pages lay as flat as can be expected, and behave even better with use.

Details

This is an A5 journal, and the leather is fixed to the outer covers of the notebook, so it can’t be re-filled (my only complaint, I would love to be able to put this cover on other journals, just to carry on using it).

Dimensions: 20.66mm (0.79″) High ×  150.11mm (5.91″) Wide ×  214.88mm (8.46″) Long
Weight: 480.81g (1.06 lbs)
No. of Pages: Approximately 120, and you can use both sides.

The leather covers are embossed on the front cover only, with all four corners bearing a subtle triangular pattern…

And, as you can see from the right-hand corner, even when it’s heavily used, the leather wears well, and looks no worse for the abuse. The center of the front cover shows an attractive pattern in the same style…

The closed notebook is held together with a matching leather tie-cord, and fastened by a wooden bead.

The cord passes through two wholes on the spine of the book, and lifts over the front edges of both covers.

 

 

 

 

The bead slides back against the book to take up the slack in the tie-cord, and hold all the pages together. It’s an attractive and functional feature that I have really enjoyed.

The back cover is simple and unadorned, but the beauty of this journal carries that off with style. Even the scratches and blemishes of several years’ use just make it look well-loved.

Summary

And it has been well-loved. There are a number of other similar notebooks in the Amarcord range, and available from Indigo / Chapters. Heather, at In Love with Journals, has reviewed another of their product line, and liked it just as much… 

The leather is beautiful and soft… I really love this journal…
Heather, Sunday, 16th February, 2016
Embossed Italian Leather Journal

This a lovely product all-round, and I’m just sorry to have finished it… except, I noticed that the Indigo / Chapters web site has them on special offer at the moment. I may have to pay them a return visit.