Recently, I’ve seen a number of notebooks on the market whose origins are pretty creative. For example, Book Journals takes old hard cover books from the 1950s and 1960s and converts them into spiral-bound notebooks.
Urban Outfitters has recently started selling notebooks with real old vinyl records sliced up for the covers – very, very cool, though the $28 price tag is steep.
Since 1863, the R. L. Allan company of Glasgow, Scotland, has been making hand-finished leather bibles, which they sell direct to customers. Recently, someone got the bright idea of using their standard bible design for a high quality notebook. Hence, the Allan’s Journal.
The Allan’s Journal, described as a “pocket-sized notebook,” has been making the Internet blog rounds since it was released about a year ago. Back then, the journal looked a little different: the front cover was embossed with the “Allan’s Journal” logo. Also, the page edges were a reddish gold instead of solid gold.
(picture courtesy Bible Design)
In June 2008, the company released the newest version of the Allan’s Journal, which we will be looking at here.
The Allan’s Journal is bound in Morocco goatskin leather, and it looks and smells beautiful. Yes, that’s right – this notebook has a great smell. If you get close, it has the subtle pleasing aroma of a new leather. This isn’t the imitation leather/oilcloth crap found on nearly all of the journals we’ve reviewed – it’s the real thing, and the quality shows. It’s beautifully wrinkled and feels exceptionally durable.
Yes, I wish the word “Journal” wasn’t embossed in gold on the front, mainly because I don’t keep a journal, and would inevitably use this for non-journal purposes. If there has to be anything there, I much prefer the original “Allan’s Journal” logo that used to adorn the cover. In fact, I sort of liked it, for the same reasons I like the Alwych cover. However, I think that nearly every reader of this blog would agree that having no words or branding on the cover would make this perfect.
Size-wise, the journal measures 4″ x 5 3/4″, or 10.16cm x 14.6cm. It’s relatively larger than a standard Moleskine, and is about a centimeter or two too large to fit in the back pocket of my jeans, which is too bad.
I don’t hate the size, but would absolutely love to see a genuine pocket version of this meeting the typical Moleskine measurements of about 3.5″ x 5″.
I want to compliment the Allan’s Journal for its width. It’s a bit thinner than a Moleskine, which is more evident when you hold it than in this picture.
I love notebooks that are either on the very thin or extra thick end of the spectrum (i.e. twice or three times as many pages), and this is one of the more compact I’ve seen.
This notebook is extremely flexible. However, it has some weight to back it up, and always returns to its original shape.
Finally, the gold pages edges. One of the things I loved in the original version of this notebook were the “red under gold edges.”
This is an incredibly unique design, and I’m disappointed to see that in the latest version, the edges appear to just be gold. I like it, but the red really gave the notebook a sense of character. I hope they go back to it in future editions.
When you open the cover, the first thing you see is black.
The leaves holding the actual notebook pages to the cover are made of a soft, smooth, thin leather-like material. Very attractive and elegant.
The next two pages are blank. Then we come to the first page. According to the website, the pages are Oxford-lined India writing paper.
First, the Allan’s Journal wins the award for the absolutely thinnest lines I’ve seen on a journal yet. I defy you to write so tiny as to fit perfectly in these lines. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge fan of anything small and conservatively designed. Most notebooks make the mistake of doing things on the big end, which usually translates into clunky and wasteful. So while I can’t complain about the line spacing, I do want to warn you that you’ll probably just use them as general guidelines at best.
The paper quality is thin. On the plus side, you get an extra thin journal overall, which I love. On the negative, you can see Uni-ball writing pretty clearly through. I originally wrote that I doubted it would hold up well to fountain pen ink, but commenter Martin says it actually does a great job and since I never conducted a test, I’ll retract my statement. If you want to get an idea of the thickness, just think of a typical Bible. The pages are usually thin so they can include a LOT of pages. The same goes for this journal, which has 256 pages (Moleskines have 192).
The Allan’s Journal opens very flat on the table.
In fact, it can open beyond flat, and it doesn’t feel like there’s any danger of breaking the spine.
There’s no back cover pocket folder or elastic (both of which would seem incredibly out of place on this journal), but there is a nice black satin bookmark. At some point, this notebook seems to have been offered with some sort of slipcase, but I guess this has been removed, probably because though neat in theory, I suppose it’s pretty much useless in practice.
I love the idea of taking the design of a Bible and turning it into a notebook. While I’m not religious myself, I think of a Bible as having to be as durable as it is refined. For hundreds of years, the Bible has been the single literary traveling companion for an inestimable number of travelers, and the idea of having that sort of standard and quality in a notebook is extremely appealing. That the company making it has been producing hand-finished Bibles since the 1860s makes it even more desirable.
I like the Allan’s Journal as it is, but would be extremely interested in seeing further variants – for example, a legitimately pocket-sized version, perhaps with more pages, would probably jump to the top of my favorite journals list. I would also love to see a much larger, thicker version. And a blank cover design would definitely be optimal.
The Allan’s Journal can only be purchased direct from www.bibles-direct.com, the Allan company’s website. It costs £15.00, which is about $26 US Dollars. Shipping adds a few more bucks on, probably making your final total between $30-$35 stateside.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Zoe // Oct 9, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Many thanks for including the use of fountain pens in this review. I had thought about buying one after a few FPn members raved about it, but if the paper is as thin as bible paper, I seriously doubt it will suit my style of wring although the body and presentation looks positive.
2 Martin Williams // Oct 10, 2008 at 6:51 am
You’re mistaken, Nick. This paper is impervious to fountain pen ink, notwithstanding its thinness. It’s made to be.
3 Eric // Oct 11, 2008 at 8:23 pm
If they made one of these like the following:
* 3.0″x5.0″ (no more, maybe slightly smaller)
* Some sort of pocket in the back
* That red-under-gold edging (not a deal-breaker if it were regular gold, though)
* Well-made vertical elastic strap
* Around 128-192 pages (more would not be a deal-breaker either)
* Nothing on the cover
* Same Bible paper as the current one uses (at least I hope it’s real Bible paper)
then I would buy a few, and give away my extra pocket Miqueriuses. I don’t know why there are so many journals, while no one but Miquelrius has made a real pocket-sized notebook that will withstand abuse while being almost unnoticeable in your pocket all day (perhaps the hard-to-find pocket slim Ciak is good). It seems like a good opportunity for a company to jump into the market.
4 Ryan // Oct 11, 2008 at 10:15 pm
+1 on the positive fountain pen experience – _much_ better than a Modo e Modo moleskine.
I was under the impression that shipping worldwide was included in the GBP 15 price – at least it was a couple of months ago when I purchased mine.
Oh! +1 on the fabulous smell! I’ve even caught myself sniffing it in public!
5 Matt // Oct 13, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I would recommend you consider review C.R. Gibson’s ‘Markings’ journals. They are sold at Staples & Target. That was my first real journal. My wife got it for me to go to Turkey for 6 weeks. I fell in love, hard. When I arrived back, I discovered the Moleskine, and it has been downhill ever since.
But I am still intrigued by the ‘Markings’ journals, because they have a what seems like a real leather cover that wraps from cover to binding to cover. It’s nicely stitched as well. It’s basically a Moleskine knock-off. Ubiquitous pocket in back, nicer satin page marker, cream pages, lines, with full lines at top and bottom. It still has that first page glue problem. It’s the same size as Moleskine as well. They come in lines, ruled, gridded, and small & large versions. Brown leather, black leather, and now they have a myriad of other crazy colored & textured covers.
Check it out! I’d love to hear your review. Email me if you want a photo or two.
6 m // Oct 18, 2008 at 2:55 am
Just another Allan’s journal lover. I use mine
with a myriad of fountain pens and it works wonderfully. The only key is to use a finer nib. This seems to help stay in the lines and keep the ink from appearing on the other side (I use a Vanishing point with either Visconti Blue or a Namiki Falcon with either a brown, grey, or MB Racing green.
7 J. Mark Bertrand // Oct 23, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Thanks for the review — I’ve linked to it. The original I wrote about at BibleDesignBlog.com was the smaller of the two options offered at the time, only slightly larger than a Moleskine journal. I’d had it for several years before that, so they’ve been around awhile. The only thing I don’t like about it is the logo, but I actually find it more attractive than the word Journal in large type.
8 Thomas // Nov 14, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I bought this journal after reading your post, and it arrived today. I can’t wait to finish the journal I’m using now and get started on this one. And the lines turned out to be even smaller than I was expecting. I think I’ll probably take two lines to write in.
9 Alec // Nov 18, 2008 at 4:14 am
I must have a bigger behind than yours, because they fit perfect in my jeans backpocket, even with a perfect pencil clipped to the back.
These are so nice and durable.
I use them every day and after 4 months it still is in one piece, looking nearly pristine and no tears/breaking backs, tearing apart. Now it is almost time to start with a new one.
Writing small with a sharp pencil makes this notebook as efficient as a letter-sized journal!
Ow and the £15 is including world wide shipping, which makes the price in $ even more attractive
Would it look very greedy to say I’ve ordered (and got) 10 of these? I just can’t believe the price, durability, efficiency and good looks of this thing. £15 might seem a lot to some people, but you’ll get more pages, less thickness, better paper and much, much, MUCH better binding as any moleskine or moleskine-wannabee there is out there.
10 Cristianne Lane // Jan 15, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Happened across this review today while on a search of my own to purchase / try some new journal types in hopes of coming upon the, “magic” notebook perfectly suited to my tastes and needs ….I’ve just purchased Apica, Rhodia, and Muji (I’ve used moleskine and Ciak almost exclusively for a number of years now). After having read this review, though, I am buying this one, too! and Thanks everyone for the great comments!! = ) ~cl
11 Lacrimose // Feb 11, 2009 at 8:25 am
Hmmm “Out of Stock” as of today 11 February 2009
Site says:
BEING RE-DESIGNED FOR 2009.TEMPORARILY OUT OF PRINT. PLEASE ORDER LATER
Hopefully the “Re-Designed” means some improvements and that they will remove the gold lettering on the cover.
12 Richard Whitney // Mar 14, 2009 at 8:25 pm
In checking with Allan on 11 Mar., they replied the next day. They are coming out with the size they have now plus a larger one, and they said they would be ready about 1 June. I am anxious to order one of each to give them a try. They will be on their website before then so check back in May.
13 Julie // Jul 16, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Woo-hoo! Been keeping an eye on the website and they now have several of these journals listed with an available date of August. Guess it won’t be long now!
14 Vincent // Jul 9, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Just got 2 more of these. I think they are very well crafted, if somewhat expensive.
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