Description
Available options:
- Is a River Alive?: Graph grid. Limited Edition of 30,000.
- The Flora-Edition: Mixed paper: Dot-graph grid, Ruled lines, Blank. Limited Edition of 30,000.
- Fall Flowers: Ruled lines. Limited Edition of 25,000.
Is a River Alive?
The 67th Quarterly Edition, released in summer 2025, coincided with the American publication of Is a River Alive?, the brilliant and important new book by author Robert Macfarlane. Across three epic journeys, Macfarlane examines the state of the world’s rivers and the people fighting to protect them, weaving these stories together with an intensely personal fourth river tale.
A long-time Field Notes user and occasional collaborator, Macfarlane first worked with Field Notes several years earlier on a companion 3-Pack for his book Underland. With Is a River Alive?, Field Notes once again played an important role in his writing process. As Macfarlane explains:
“These notebooks were my constant companions during the years of writing Is A River Alive?; always there in pocket or pack. Into them I poured the glitter of primary encounter; image, dialogue, idea. They got dog-eared and foxed and soaked –– and filled with words. The closing of the circle which now sees a new ‘River’ edition of Field Notes flowing out of the finished book makes me very happy indeed.”
Meander.
Also returning was Macfarlane’s frequent collaborator, legendary visual artist Stanley Donwood, best known for his artwork for Radiohead and The Smile. Donwood’s starting point for the Is a River Alive? covers was his entrancing hand-carved linocut, “Meander”. Manipulating the colours and textures of the resulting prints produced a series of works, two of which were selected for the US and UK editions of the book.
The highly textured, colourful covers are printed and embossed on Sappi McCoy Silk, ~271gsm, stock. Three gloss-white staples bind 48 pages of Domtar Lynx, ~89 gsm, featuring a “Cloud Forest Gray” graph grid.
Two of the three Memo Books in the 3-Pack reproduce the US and UK hardcover editions of the book, finished with matte, gloss and reticulated UV varnishes.
The third book features the labor of Donwood’s artistic process, the linocut itself—treated with matte and gloss U.V. varnishes. The embossing and varnishes lend an added tactile element to Donwood’s stunning visuals.
Specifications:
- Cover artwork by Stanley Donwood, legendary visual artist, known for his artwork for Radiohead and The Smile.
- Proudly printed by Classic Color, Broadview, Ill.
- Cover: Sappi McCoy Silk “White,” ~271gsm; with a 4-colour application of process-colour soy-based inks, UV gloss coating and matte varnish, and sculpted emboss.
- Innards: Domtar Lynx Opaque “White,” ~89gsm; with a fine, 1-colour application of “Cloud Forest Grey” soy-based ink.
- Cover and innards printed on a Komori Lithrone G40″ 6-color UV printing press.
- Bound by a Muller Martini Presto II saddle stitcher with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill, and William J. Brown, the “Founding Fathers of the Staple.”
- Corners precisely rounded to a 9.5mm ( 3/8″) radius with a Challenge round-corner machine.
- Graph grid: 4.7mm × 4.7mm (3/16″ × 3/16″).
- Memo book dimensions are 89mm × 140mm (3-1/2″ × 5-1/2″).
- Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
- Printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
- Limited Edition of 30,000 x 3-Packs.
The Flora-Edition
See the World in Shapes
Flora—the Roman goddess of flowers, fertility, and the coming of spring—lends her name to Field Notes’ 62nd Quarterly Edition. Three original designs by Chicago artist, muralist and designer Emmy Star Brown bring bright, joyful colour and playful geometric forms to the covers of these Memo Books.
What Colour Are They?
After a long winter, the Flora Edition delivers a welcome burst of colour. Vibrant shapes are printed on high-quality Sappi McCoy, ~271 gsm, cover stock and enhanced with subtle contrasting gloss and dull varnishes.
Inside, three distinct page styles—ruled, dot-graph and plain—are printed in subtle grey ink on Domtar Lynx, ~89 gsm paper. Glossy red staples complete the design, tying the edition together both figuratively and literally.
As with all Quarterly Editions, the Flora Edition is produced in limited quantities. Like spring itself, it won’t be around for long.
Specifications:
- Cover artwork by Emmy Star Brown, Chicago Ill., emmystarbrown.com
- Proudly printed by The Graphic Arts Studio, LLC, Barrington, Ill.
- Cover: Sappi McCoy Gloss “White,” ~271gsm; with a 4-colour application of process soy-based Superior inks with added soft touch and gloss varnishes.
- Innards: Domtar Lynx “White,” ~89 gsm; with a subtle, 1-colour application of “Spring Mist Warm Gray” soy-based superior ink.
- Cover and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster C 102S six-colour printing press.
- Bound with 24-gauge WCJ Pilgrim “Red” stitching wire on a Muller Martini 6-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer.
- Corners precisely rounded to a 9.5mm (3/8″) radius with a Challenge round-corner machine.
- Dot-graph grid: 4.7mm × 4.7mm (3/16″ × 3/16″). Ruled lines: 6.4mm (1/4″). Third book is blank.
- Memo book dimensions are 89mm × 140mm (3-1/2″ × 5-1/2″).
- Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
- Printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
- Limited Edition of 30,000 x 3-Packs.
Fall Flowers
Late Bloomers. Released in Autumn 2025 as the 68th Quarterly Edition, Fall Flowers celebrates three late-season blooms that deserve a little more attention: purple coneflower, false foxglove, and common chicory.
While spring flowers tend to steal the spotlight, these hardy blooms remain vibrant as the days grow shorter and colder. To capture their enduring character, Jennifer Farrell of Starshaped Press illustrated the trio in the decorative style of early-20th-century publishers’ bindings, creating a beautifully nostalgic interpretation of each flower.
The covers are printed with three subtle metallic inks on Mohawk “Midnight Blue” Mosaic stock, ~271 gsm, with a burlap finish, evoking the texture and faded elegance of dusty, well-worn cloth-bound books from more than a century ago.
Inside the back covers, each flower is accompanied by a selection of facts and Practical Applications. The interiors are ruled in light blue-gray on the ever-popular Domtar Lynx stock, ~89 gsm.
The accompanying film, Coneflower, Foxglove, and Chicory, features beautiful paper flowers created by artist Laura Garcia of Paper Perennial, extending the botanical theme beyond the pages of the notebooks.
Specifications:
-
- Cover artwork designed by Jennifer Farrell of Starshaped Press in the decorative style of early-20th-century “publishers’ bindings”.
- Proudly printed by The Graphic Arts Studio, LLC, Barrington, Illinois.
- Cover: Mohawk Mosaic “Midnight Blue” in Burlap, ~271 gsm; with a thick, brute-force application of “Coneflower Mauve” and “Deep Denim” soy-based Superior inks.
- Innards: Domtar Lynx Opaque “White”, ~89 gsm; with a fine, one-colour application of “Autumn Sky” soy-based Superior ink.
- Printing: Cover and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102S six-colour press.
- Binding: Bound with a Muller Martini 6-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer, with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill, and William J. Brown, the “Founding Fathers of the Staple.”
- Corners: Precisely rounded to a 9.5 mm (3/8″) radius with a Challenge DCM double round-corner machine.
- Ruling: 6.4 mm (1/4″).
- Dimensions: 89 × 140 mm (3-1/2″ × 5-1/2″).
- Typeface: Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
- Printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
- Edition: Limited to 25,000 x 3-Packs.
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