Field Notes: 1943

Many Field Notes limited editions have delved into fascinating corners of American printing, publishing, and design history, and this release takes that curiosity both deep — and a little sideways. In 1943, the U.S. government partnered with the American publishing industry to create what became known as the Armed Services Editions. More than 120 million compact books, spanning over 1,200 titles, were produced and delivered to troops overseas during World War II. Their unusual horizontal format and bold primary-colored covers immediately caught Field Notes’ eye.

The Winter 2025 “1943” Edition draws inspiration from those originals, introducing three distinctive “Two-Way” Memo Books.

Designed to echo the ASE’s horizontal layout, the “1943” Memo Books keep Field Notes’ familiar 5.5” × 3.5” size but feature two staples along the short edge instead of the usual three on the long one. While experimenting with prototypes, Field Notes discovered that this binding works wonderfully vertically as well. The result? A notebook you can use either way: a horizontal cover on one side and a vertical cover on the other. Whether someone prefers flipping the top open to jot down quick notes or laying the pages wide for a panoramic sketch, the “Two-Way” design adapts to the moment.

Each 3-Pack features bright red, yellow, and blue books. The covers are printed on durable Westrock Tango 12pt coated-one-side stock, while the interiors use a smooth 60# Domtar Cougar “Natural” with an “Aged Newsprint” 3/16” graph grid — the same stock that proved so popular in last winter’s sold-out “Vintage” Edition.

1. Proudly printed by the good people of The Graphic Arts Studio, LLC, Barrington, Ill.
2. Cover: West Rock Tango 12pt C1S “White,” with a thick, brute force, 4-color application of “1943 Magazine Press Primaries” soy-based Superior inks.
   
3. Innards: Domtar Cougar 60#T “Natural,” with a 1-color application of “Aged Newsprint” soy-based Superior ink.
   
4. Cover and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102S six-color printing press.
   
5. Bound with a Muller Martini 6-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer, with appreciation to Samuel Slocum, George W. McGill, and William J. Brown, the “Founding Fathers of the Staple.”
   
6. Corners precisely rounded to a 3/8" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge DCM double round-corner machine.
   
7. Graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm).
   
8. Memo book dimensions are 5-1/2" × 3-1/2" (140mm × 89mm).
   
9. FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927), in collaboration with Monotype.
   
10. All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.
    
11. Limited Edition of 25,000 3-Packs.
    
12. UPC: 850032279437