FIELD NOTES QE 1943 3-Pack

Many of our limited editions have explored interesting chapters in the history of American, printing, publishing and design and this one goes deep (and sideways) into just such a story. In 1943, the U.S. government and the American publishing industry collaborated to create what came to be known as the Armed Services Editions. Over the next few years, more than 120 million books representing over 1,200 titles were printed and distributed to overseas troops during the Second World War. The books were printed in an odd horizontal format with bright, primary-colored covers and that was what caught our attention.

Our Winter 2025 release, the 1943 Edition was inspired by the Armed Service Editions, including three unique Two-Way Memo Books.

We created the 1943 Memo Books to mimic the ASEs horizontal orientation. While theyre our usual 5.5″ x 3.5″ Memo Book size, theyre the first with two staples on the short side instead of three on the long side. But while mocking up prototypes, we realized the short-edge binding also works great for a vertical notebook! So its up to you, theres a horizontal cover on one side, and a vertical cover on the other. Whether you want to flip the top of your Field Notes open to take notes as you interview a witness, or spread the pages wide for a panoramic sketch of a crime scene, the 1943 Two-Way Edition is the right tool for your investigation.

Youll find bright red, yellow, and blue books in each 3-Pack. Covers are printed on sturdy Westrock Tango 12pt coated-one-side cover stock. The body of the book is 60# Domtar Cougar Natural (very popular in last winters sold-out Vintage Edition), with an Aged Newsprint 3/16″ graph grid.