Paperblanks hardcover wrap diaries feature a magnetic wrap-around closure to ensure your diary stays securely closed.
Hardcover Diaries
Paperblanks classic hardcover diaries offer an extensive range of attractive and thought-provoking cover designs.
Flexi Diaries
Paperblanks Flexi Softcover Diaries offer a flexible counterpart to their existing hardback cover designs
Paperblanks Diaries - 2021 Diaries & 2020-21 Academic 18 Month Diaries
This section contains all Paperblanks diaries currently available, these include all of the Paperblanks 2021 diary designs & 2020/21 18 Month Academic diaries.
The Paperblanks Academic diaries run for 18 months from the end of June 2020 until December 2021.
2021 Diaries are available to pre order now and will be dispatched as soon as they become available, which should be around the end of September. Your card will not be charged until your order is dispatched.
Don't wait - order now and have the complete range to choose from. If you wait you may miss out on the one you really want!
2020 saw the addition of softcover 'Flexi' diaries to the range in addition to the classic hardcover diaries and hardcover wrap diaries with magnetic closure.
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Brilliant gold bursts from the page in this highly contrasting repeating pattern. Heavy gold tooling of interlinking curling shapes provides a diamond lattice within which more delicate tooling of varying shades depict thistle-like motifs. The vibrant binding held Voltaire’s Zadig, or The Book of Fate and was crafted in 1893 by Chamerot et Renouard in Paris.
This image of lush flowing fabric engages the senses, managing to capture the rich lustre and weight of the cloth in such a way that you can almost feel it. Reflections of the ornate embroidery capture the light, creating depth and movement. This precious Gulabi design is an example of the incredible skill of the ancient silk weavers of Varanasi, India, an area once home to as many as 300,000 weavers.
Swirling turquoise textures and vivid blue highlights are overlaid with rich gold tooling. The flowing symmetrical lines are botanical in nature, with intricate centre and corner designs of dotted gold. Turquoise flowers contrast against the deeply textured background to great effect. The original binding on which the cover is based is an excellent example of early 16th century French bookbinding.
Vibrant layers of foliage, flowers and butterflies draw us into a vivid representation of nature, bursting with life and colour. This light-hearted and captivating montage is the work of Texan artist Gary Grayson, who blends pop art and impressionism with influences from nature.
Like something from a fantasy epic, this meticulously crafted tome is bejewelled and resplendent, with mosaic tiling and entwined serpents surrounding a cross pattée with four saints inlaid in its arms. The opulence and gravitas of this cover leaves us with no doubt as to the significance bestowed on its contents by the creator.
The instantly recognisable renderings of a genius captivate in this richly textured golden cover design. The reversed handwriting and meticulous drawings can be of none other than Leonardo DaVinci, the infinitely curious polymath and inventor. Leonardo’s studies of geometry and the universe are focussed here on his observations on the light of the moon relative to the radiance of the sun.
This elegant cover brings to mind medieval monks working by candle light, however it is in fact a hybrid of artisanal craft and a new mass-market manufacturing method known as the printing press. Delightful and highly skilled illuminations feature flora and fauna, with vibrantly coloured flowers and birds framing what appears to be meticulously hand-written latin lettering, yet are in fact individually cast movable letters reassembled into printed text.
Striking guilt tooling combines a central rounded-diamond motif and corner details with flowing, botanical symmetry in this lush, classical cover design. The iconic trefoil (clover) motif is used here by French bookbinder Claude de Picques in this 16th-century French binding of the Opera Omnia - the complete works of Giovanni Pontano.
Thought and imagination are celebrated in these captivating cover designs, which invite us to engage the power of our minds. Unlock and let your mind take flight, take shelter from the background noise and let creativity flow. German artist Catrin Welz-Stein forms digital collages of old photos and illustrations to visualize the subconscious in these engaging and surreal cover designs.
Radial bursts of autumnal leaves are mirrored across two plains of reflection in this richly coloured work. Pleasing symmetry and kaleidoscopic flare are enriched by the beautiful mirrored guilding enhancing the detailed outlines of the leaves, leaving the impression of fireworks. The reproduction is of a 20th-century binding of La Déclamation Théâtrale, La Déclamation is the defining work of Claude J. Dorat.
Dragons, mermaids and mysterious characters from past and present offer us a call to adventure in these enchanting and vivid images by James C. Christensen. Every element in his work seems to have its own story to tell, igniting the imagination and drawing you into his world of fantasy and adventure.
Troll-like giants and mischievous impish folk peek out from woodland thicket in this charming cover design taken from an illustration accompanying the poem “The Land” in Brian Froud’s 2007 book World of Faerie. The “sentient beings” that inhabit this journal cover invite you to step into their world. Froud’s World of Faerie offers a startling new vision of the magical realm.
Rich colours, lush textures and surreal imagery combine to present these charming covers taken from the work of French author and illustrator Benjamin Lacombe, at once both vintage and distinctly contemporary. The colourful portrait of the 'Frida' cover is taken from his illustrated 2017 biography of Frida Kahlo whilst the Madame Butterfly cover is originally from Lacombe’s illustrated 2013 book of the same name.
Flourishing botanical gold tooling blooms forth from deeply textured, vividly coloured backgrounds in these sumptuous covers. Swirling patterns invite the eye to follow the beautifully proportioned, meticulously crafted tendrils which adorn the corner details and central diamond-shaped rosette motif. Based on a 17th-century binding from Italy, this design exemplifies the era’s style.
Intricate, delicately crafted patterns emanate from three boldly lined radial shapes framed within a textured rectangle. The solid gilt tooling is the work of Émile-Philippe Mercier, whose book binding of ‘Daphnis & Chloe’ this cover replicates. The story, written in the 2nd century AD in Greece is the romantic tale of two innocent lovers and the hurdles they overcame.
A recent addition to Paperblanks’ offering, this Blue Velvet cover design is based on a piece of dalmatic - a sumptuous fabric favoured by British monarchs and Christian churches. The luxurious depth of colour variation in the dense pile of the velvet is complemented by contrasting gilt metal thread in the form of a botanical, artichoke-like repeating pattern. Originally from Italy, this piece was the possession of Hungarian art dealer Marczell Nemes until it arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1945.
The Aurelia range showcases the works of book-binding royalty. Pierre-Paul Dubuisson, the craftsman behind this highly embellished binding, became the kings official bookbinder in 1758. A masterpiece of gold-tooled rococo elements representing flowers, foliage and birds, this binding encapsulating the opulence of the French monarchy and originally housed copies of King Louis XV’s procedures for Holy Week.
Frederick de Wit’s Celestial Planisphere cover is a remarkable and romantic map of the heavens depicting the hemispheres with representations of the constellations and signs of the Zodiac.
The Embellished Manuscript range inspires the artist within us all by collecting together excerpts, drawings and quotes from some of the greatest creative thinkers of our time. Fill each day with an inspirational snippet from the brilliant minds of Proust, Monet, Schubert, Bach, Lewis Carroll or Bram Stoker.
This cover reproduces a 1688 binding from the Düsseldorf Museum Kunstpalast. It is decorated in the "Fanfare" style, popular from the 1500's to the 1700's. The time and skill required to produce such a binding ensured that it was only used for the most valuable of books, in this case "L'office de la Semaine Sainte" giving the rites and rituals to be performed during Holy Week, the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Paperblanks' Fall Filigree series celebrates the beguiling tones of the changing seasons. The filigree design evokes golden wheat and corn and is complemented by lusciously rich colours.
The painstaking Maki-e process used to elaborately adorn these decorative boxes is beautifully reproduced on theses diaries. This traditional method uses layers of metallic particles combined with sap to build layers of detail producing vivid and intricate designs. The design here is a 19th century example of this technique, 'Ougi' takes it's inspiration from the natural world featuring two beautifully formed turtles within a more abstract design. 'Ougi' is available in Slim size as horizontal week-to-view and verso (days on the left, notes on the right) formats.
Formed in the Middle Ages, the walled city of Urbino is a designated World Heritage Site, famed for is legacy of distinctive Renaissance culture. Situated high on a hillside, the Cardinal Giovanni Albani of Urbino enriched the city when he became Pope in the early 18th century and Urbino remains a gem among Europe’s early settlements. The indulgent binding which this diary replicates was translated into French by the Princess Maria Anna Matilde in 1755.
These popular diaries featuring the artwork of Canadian artist Laurel Burch and celebrate the playful and fascinating nature of cats. The ideal diary for cat lovers, they feature two cover designs, 'Blue Cats & Butterflies' and 'Mediterranean Cats', available in Midi and Mini size respectively both are available in horizontal week-to-view format. Additionally, 'Blue Cats & Butterflies' is also available in verso (days on the left, notes on the right) format.
A self-taught artist, Laurel Burch started her career in San Francisco in the ‘Flower Power’ days of the 1960’s. Always following her own intuition, Laurel developed her own distinctive and much loved style. Her very popular ‘Flutterbyes’ design has been chosen for this diary cover. It is available in mini, midi and maxi sizes and a range of formats.
These delightful creations from the inventive mind of Laurel Burch have proved very popular and are redolent of the 'flower power' days of her youth in 1960's San Francisco.
Michiko Kamee is a specialist in miniatures and condenses beauty in her small artworks to find its purest distillation. The Kikka diary reproduces Michiko Kamee's "full of chrysanthemum" design, using the Kyo-Satsuma technique, which is painted on to china and emphasizes precision in line and colour choice, accentuated with breathtakingly beautiful gilding.
Mila Marquis's ethereal dreamscapes feature a mix of pencils, watercolours, goache and acrylics in a creation process which often crosses over into the digital space depending on what's required to realize the artist's vision. These diaries feature a selection of delightful, unashamedly sweet depictions of fairies, fawns and flowers. Guaranteed to that charm anyone awakened to possibility of magic.
A stalwart of the Paperblanks collection 'Old Leather' beautifully recreates antique leather books using modern printing techniques including embossing and foiling. The original Black Moroccan design combines an intense dark chocolate brown Moroccan leather embellished with handtooled gold.
Renaissance-style bookbinding is celebrated in this selection of Old Leather Classics diaries, which combine rich leather hues with the simplicity of a classic binding.
Petrykivka painting is a Ukrainian technique which uses tiny brushes created from cat hairs to create mesmerizing kaleidoscopic visual effects. Olena Skytsiuk uses thousands of small strokes to create these lusciously vivid floral scenes.
These Painted Botanicals journals feature images of wisteria and lilies, painted by some of the master horticulturalists and illustrators.
The design reproduced on this journal cover, originally crafted by Riviere and Son, centres around a sensitive plant surrounded by other richly hued flowers, foliage and butterflies. The binding was used for The Sensitive Plant and Early Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley and is a celebration of the creative spirit.
Celebrating the art of the Persian Safavid style of 16th century bookbinding, the covers of these diaries feature the intricate geometric patterns of animal and plant motifs that were a hallmark of the style. These bold designs are recreated as Mini, Midi and Ultra size weekly diaries in horizontal week-to-view and day-to-view formats.
Said to have been commissioned by one of the Safavid princes of Shiraz, this 16th century binding was created on black goatskin which was gilded and painted to produce this delicate filigree design. Faithfully reproduced for these Paperblanks diaries, this binding and it's décor represent one of the finest achievement of this Persian dynasty.
Much like the New Romantics who brought previous movements in music, art and poetry to new prominence, Paperblanks have revived their Romantic Sensibility designs in bold new colours for the present-day.
The covers of these diaries are inspired by a Renaissance book called The Treatise on Colours dating back to the early 1600s and combine ancient bookbinding with contemporary bookmaking techniques. The palette used captures some of the splendid daybreak colours of Venice, from sunlight on the water to the hues of incomparable architecture.