Onyx Asterales : Midi Lined Hardback Journal

Connect with the ornate Dutch world of yesteryear with this stately gold-on-black geometric design.

Reproducing an expensive goatskin leather book binding crafted in Amsterdam in 1835 by Friedrich W.J.C. Kolb, our Onyx journal celebrates the harmony between art and science. The binding was originally designed to contain a Latin oration on the physiology of plants by the renowned Dutch botanist Willem Hendrik de Vriese (1806-1862). De Vriese was a member of the Royal Dutch Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts and, in his studies, named many species of plants in the Asterales order (Asterids).

Science and art have long found a common ground in Dutch history, with artists from the Netherlands pioneering the form of still life, so there is little wonder why this significant binding can be found in the KB, National Library of the Netherlands. Founded in 1798, the library holds the intention to celebrate the written word and share Dutch creativity and innovation with the world. We are honoured to partner with the KB, National Library to bring this beautiful binding to the Paperblanks collection.