A small bookbinder in the French city of Tours began producing portable and sturdy notebooks that were sold in the stationery shops of Paris and used by creators and explorers through most of the 19th and 20th centuries to record sketches, observations and prose. The French company went out of business in 1986, the small Milanese company of Modo & Modo began creating the notebooks in 1997, and, when demand proved overwhelming, sold the company in 2006 to SGCapital Europe.
Moleskine is pronounced mol-a-skeen'-a. The name is said by the company to have been coined by English novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin.
Users of the notebook include Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Ernest Hemmingway and Pablo Picasso.
Besides the classic notebook, some versions of which now come in red as well as black, the company produces planners and City Books, which provide a map and other information of a featured world city, with writing pages for your own notes besides. You can also get large-sized Moleskines now--8.25 x 11.75 inches instead of just the classic sizes of 3.5 x 5.5 inches or 5.25 x 8.25 inches--and softcover products.
For writing, Moleskine makes Reporter Style Notebooks that flip open from the top, besides those that open at the side. Those in the visual arts can use Sketch Books, Watercolor Books, Story Board Notebooks and Japanese Books, which have 30 leaves that fold out in pleats. For musicians, Moleskine makes notebooks printed with musical staffs. For travelers, besides the City Books, Moleskine makes a Travel Info Journal that has five tabbed sections: Bed, Food, People, Sights and Facilities.
Molekine makes books that are actually accordion files in notebook form. The company also makes a 9.25 x 13-inch A4 Portfolio and a 13 x 18-inch A3 Portfolio that uses accordion pockets to hold art or documents for presentation. Moleskine also makes address books.