I started using the Field Museum Field Notes at the beginning of this month, and it reminded me that there are other Field Notes editions that use the same green paper stock, French Paper Pop-Tone in Gumdrop Green. So here they are all together (pictured above, from left):

Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” (Fall 2015 Quarterly Edition)
Grass Stain Green (Summer 2009 Quarterly Edition)
The Field Museum (released late 2017)

There may be other Field Notes that use the same paper, but these are all I have. As you can see, I don’t have the original, plain white belly band of Grass Stain Green (I only have a single), but don’t they look lovely all together? I think that these light brown belly bands look especially great with the matte green covers.

Obviously, GSG stands out because it’s the only one that’s letterpressed (“blind hit” to be more specific). It’s one of the most beautiful Field Notes and certainly one of my top favorite editions, but so is Shenandoah, with its custom-duplex cover and brown ink that work together to complete the forest theme. The Field Museum edition may seem plain by comparison, but it’s still special to me because of all the memories I have of going on field trips to the museum when I was younger.

Back inside covers (from top): Grass Stain Green printed with “Green Mind” ink, Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” with “Shenandoah Salamander” brown ink, The Field Museum with “Lake Michigan Blue” ink.

All three editions use “Gumdrop Green” in 100#C for the cover, but Shenandoah feels the thickest because it is duplex-mounted to another sheet of paper, French Paper Pop-Tone in “Lemon Drop”, making it the only one whose cover looks different when you open it.

From top: Shenandoah “Sweet Birch”, Grass Stain Green, The Field Museum

From left: Grass Stain Green, Shenandoah “Sweet Birch”, The Field Museum

As for the body paper, they all use “white” paper, except GSG uses Boise Offset Smooth 50#T, which is what Field Notes used in the early days. Since Balsam Fir, they have been mostly using Finch Paper Opaque Smooth, which is what you’d find in Shenandoah and The Field Museum edition, both slightly thicker in 60#T. Both GSG and Shenandoah are graph grid (3/16"), printed in “Photosynthesizing Chlorophyll” light green and “Appalachian Moss” light green, respectively, while The Field Museum is ruled (1/4" or 6.4 mm) in “Double Knee Duck Canvas” light brown ink, the same color you’d find in Field Notes’ standard Kraft memo books. Fun (to me) side note: the inside cover of GSG specifies 4.5 mm for the grid size, but the conversion should’ve been 4.7 mm. I believe this doesn’t get corrected until National Crop (Spring 2012).

From top: Grass Stain Green, Shenandoah, and The Field Museum. Innards in Grass Stain Green are 50#T, making it the thinnest memo book in this group. Shenandoah feels the thickest with its custom-duplexed cover.

I like that these all have different sets of “Practical Applications”. The ones in GSG are not unique; they’re the same as the ones in the regular kraft books. But the other two have their own custom sets. Interestingly, there are only 15 applications in the Field Museum edition, and I admit I don’t recognize all the references. Maybe it’s time for me to revisit the museum. 😊

Back view, from left: Shenandoah “Birch”, Grass Stain Green, The Field Museum.

I’ve always been a fan of Field Notes memo books with French Paper Pop-Tone covers, so I was stoked when the Field Museum edition came out, even though “Gumdrop Green” has been used before (and despite the hefty price tag). It might not be exciting anymore to some fans, but I really like this green, and as a casual Field Notes collector, it’s fun to compare and see how the same paper is interpreted in different ways. Which do you like the best? I really like all three, but if I were offered extras of any of these (one can dream), I’d choose Grass Stain Green. 💚

Related Links and Notes

Field Notes Color Comparison: Green
My previous post on Grass Stain Green
My previous post on Shenandoah
There’s a second set of The Field Museum Field Notes, with Earth as the theme! It is available online, here.
The first version (the green 3-pack featured in this post) is now on sale, here.
The Field Museum (Chicago, IL)

Have you received your pack of the “M × L × B × D” Edition? Here are some pictures of the two 3-packs that I purchased from the Field Notes website. FYI, unlike most of my previous Field Notes posts, this will be mostly photo-centric, with just a few observations and notes from me. You can find more details on this edition at the links listed near the bottom of this post.

I've been using one for daily notes and I like it a lot. At first, I thought the DDC “Totally Turquoise” graph grid inside could be too contrast-y for my writing, but since I've begun to use thicker pen tips with Field Notes (0.5 mm and higher), this has not been an issue. Other observations:

The turquoise foil on the cover is just gorgeous. I'm a fan of foil-stamped editions. :) By the way, product description calls this “Babe the Blue Ox” foil, but the specs printed on the back cover say “Totally Turquoise”.
As in other DDC issues, the front inside cover has a DDC pattern all over it, but this time it’s a diagonal pattern (loop of the text “DDC × MONDO × LANDLAND × BURLESQUE”). A very dynamic detail that I like a lot. You can also find this pattern on the inside of the belly band, printed in matching turquoise foil. Swoon.
The cover paper is French Paper Construction 100# in “Recycled White”. We saw this previously in Day Game.
The DDC-branded editions usually use Accent Opaque 50# for the body paper, and this “M × L × B × D” edition is no exception, specifically in “Absolutely Alabaster”. The DDC Pop-Up edition and the Dead Print edition also list this exact same color.
The edition size is 11,500 3-packs. That seems like a lot for a special edition. For comparison, Resolution (the latest quarterly edition) was 35,000 packs.
Has a DDC-branded edition (item no. “DDC-054”) ever been sold through the Field Notes website before? It’s interesting because my memory says no.
My order of 3-packs from FN came with a free pencil: their new red Valentine’s Day pencil. It was a nice surprise, as I was under the impression that it would be included with orders placed during the following Valentine’s Day week. Yay!

Turquoise foil on the inside of belly band.

The “Open All Night Sign Neon Red” on the inside cover is not showing up properly in this photo, but it really is fluorescent. The far right book with “U.S. Post Office” is my favorite.

“M × L × B × D” Edition product links, if you’re interested. Some may be sold out:

What are your thoughts on this edition? Any interesting details you noticed or would like to share? I hear it's nicknamed the “alphabet soup” edition. 😄 And that if you order from Burlesque, you get a mini print..? How many 3-packs did you end up getting and are you happy with the ones you received? Each vendor had a limit of 2 packs per household, so I just got 2, and I'm satisfied the variety I got. There was a set of duplicates but that made my decision on which to use first easier. 😊

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