1943 Field Notes

Many of our limited editions have explored interesting chapters in the history of American, printing, publishing and design and this one goes deep (and sideways) into just such a story. In 1943, the U.S. government and the American publishing industry collaborated to create what came to be known as the “Armed Services Editions.” Over the next few years, more than 120 million books representing over 1,200 titles were printed and distributed to overseas troops during the Second World War. The books were printed in an odd horizontal format with bright, primary-colored covers — and that was what caught our attention. Our Winter 2025 release, the “1943” Edition was inspired by the Armed Service Editions, including three unique “Two-Way” Memo Books. We created the “1943” Memo Books to mimic the ASE’s horizontal orientation. While they’re our usual 5.5" x 3.5" Memo Book size, they’re the first with two staples on the short side instead of three on the long side. But while mocking up prototypes, we realized the sh