“This Book is Chineese Manufacture”

Wallace used a variety of notebooks on his travels and most of them would appear to have been sourced from stationers in the United Kingdom. The four notebooks that he used as journals during his expedition to the Malay Archipelago from 1854 to 1862 are unusual. They appear to be a Chinese version of a European style notebook, made using local materials. Intriguingly an inscription by Wallace in MS/178b reads “This book is Chineese Manufacture”. Were these notebooks specially commissioned by Wallace or were they available from a local supplier?

The pages are constructed from thin Chinese paper, perhaps Kozo (from the inner bark of the Mulberry tree and also known as rice paper) which has been laminated, two or three sheets together to produce a thicker weight of paper that resembled paper used in Europe. The boards too are constructed from several layers of thin straw board.

The pages are sewn on two tapes made from cotton and paper. The notebooks were bound, European style, with a smooth leather spine and board corners, finished with a decorated paper similar to European marbled paper.

These curious notebooks have deteriorated, no doubt because of use, but also partly because of the novel method of binding. The laminated pages have separated around the edges where damage from insects and damp are evident. The board layers have begun to come apart and the covering materials have disintegrated. The cotton and paper tapes on which the books are sewn have worn and the sewing thread has rotted.

During conservation the original bindings were removed, the pages reinforced and repaired, and new covers made. The new bindings are made without glue and can easily be removed from the journal pages without damage. All the original materials have been retained and are stored with the notebooks.