Voltaire Guest Book

Traditionally guest books have been used to record the name, and sometimes a comment, of an attendee at a special occasion, be it a gallery opening, a shower, a wedding, a special birthday, an anniversary, or a funeral. This guest book is a handsome all-occasion volume in which to document lasting memories.

No detail has been overlooked in the design and production of this elegant guest book. The cover of the journal is imprinted with gold, copper, and silver inks.

This 9" x 7" journal has a ribbon marker in a coordinating color chosen to complement the cover and has an accordion-style memento pouch.

The binding boards are 100% recycled; the 144 pages are acid-free, FSC certified paper. The binding is Smyth sewn, a traditional technique that results in a sturdy yet flexible book.

The design of this hardcover book is based on an antique binding of Voltaire’s Zadig; or The Book of Fate, first published in 1747. The binding was crafted in 1893 in Paris by Chamerot et Renouard; today the original can be found in the Rare Book and Special Collections archive at the Princeton University Library. The Book of Fate tells the story of Zadig, an ancient Babylonian philosopher. In it one finds the seeds of the modern detective story, including a likely source of inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe’s master of “ratiocination,” C. Auguste Dupin.

144 unlined pages; 9" x 7": printed on custom-designed laid, acid-free, sustainable paper; no closure; Smyth-sewn binding.