Original Tablet Device: 18th And 19th Century Pocket Notebooks Thomas Jefferson used one to record his observations, at home and during his travels, on climate, geography, bird migration and plants. Benjamin Franklin used one to record his adherence to the 13 virtues in his personal improvement program. Shakespeare and Chaucer reference them. These memo books, used in the 18th and 19th centuries, were often made of ivory and unfolded into a fan shape. This one has a silver crest on the front, and a clasp on the edge to hold it closed. The ivory leaves were sometimes marked with the days of the week (except for Sunday, of course) and pencil marks on the leaves were easily erased after the information was no longer needed or was transferred to a more permanent (paper) notebook.Of course, before the ivory versions became popular, Table Books (not to be confused with elaborate coffee table books, which came into fashion in the 19th century), existed thousands of years ago. In Roman times, these books were made of wood leaves coated with wax, and marks were made with a stylus made of bone, ivory or iron.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:39:04 +0000