The Proud Art of Beautiful Writing Library Offers Limited Edition Moleskine® Notebooks

In an increasingly digital age, one discovers anew the pleasure of a tactile experience.  As computer screens and virtual keyboards encroach ever further upon day-to-day life, we may find ourselves, at times, savoring the inefficient but delightful process of writing by hand, on creamy paper, with a favorite pen.

 

This fall, the Special Collections and Digital Services departments will celebrate the Weinberg Memorial Library's 20th anniversary with a limited run of custom Moleskine® notebooks, inspired by the calligraphic and ornamental masterworks preserved in the Library's Zaner-Bloser Penmanship Collection (www.scranton.edu/library/zanerbloser).

 

Featured on each notebook is "The Proud Art Shall Conquer," a peacock flourish by master penman Fielding Schofield (1845-1924). Schofield's work references a 19th century professional penmanship journal, more specifically its motto, "The Proud Art of Beautiful Writing Shall Conquer the Hearts of All Men," and epitomizes the matchless beauty of pen on paper.

 

In true modern fashion, however, the Moleskine® notebooks blend traditional, tactile art with digital design.  Digital Services graphic artist April Francia, a University of Scranton sophomore double majoring in Political Science and Philosophy, created the notebook covers and decorative paper bands (as well as the Zaner-Bloser Collection logo) by manipulating digitized images of ornamental penmanship in Adobe Illustrator.

 

Packaged in sets of two (one ruled and one blank), the Zaner-Bloser Penmanship Collection Moleskines® will soon be available for purchase on the Weinberg Memorial Library website for the price of $20 per set.  All proceeds benefit the care, preservation, and digitization of the Zaner-Bloser Penmanship Collection