The design reproduced on this journal cover, originally crafted by Riviere and Son, centres around a sensitive plant surrounded by other richly hued flowers, foliage and butterflies. The binding was used for The Sensitive Plant and Early Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley and is a celebration of the creative spirit.

The Safavid Dynasty is often considered to represent the Islamic Golden Age, with its artists and creative methods still celebrated today. This Safavid Indigo pencil case incorporates the symmetry and filigree designs that are the hallmarks of this binding tradition.

Azulejos (meaning “small polished stone�) are painted, glazed ceramic tiles that date back to 13th-century Portugal where they were used inside buildings during the Gothic period. Today, we see these decorative tiles across a wide range of buildings, from monasteries, palaces and restaurants to bars, railway stations and family homes. The design on the tiles commonly related to the building’s unique history, and the individual pieces often end up forming an elaborate mosaic.The design seen here is pulled from the traditional tiles gracing the façades of a variety of old houses in Porto, Portugal. Ornate in detail, these tiles do not just serve as decoration but represent an important part of Portuguese culture and tradition.

Described as the “mise en scène for the romantic drama of American business,� New York City’s Chanin Building was built by Irwin S. Chanin in the late 1920s. Ornately adorned with bronze grilles representing some of the finest Art Deco in the city, the lobby was styled around a “City of Opportunity� concept. One of these ventilator grilles, with loops, spirals and geometric lines symbolizing human thought and emotion, is reproduced here.

This blue and gold Paperblanks Equinoxe Azure journal reproduces a 1688 binding protecting L’office de la Semaine Sainte. The original binding was adorned “à la fanfare,� a handtooled pattern edged in gilt. “Fanfare,� which was a style popular in the seventeenth century, required tremendous skill on the part of the bookbinder and was reserved for books of great importance.

French author and illustrator Benjamin Lacombe lends his unique spirit to our collection with this lively design. His works have been published and translated around the world. In this Madame Butterfly jigsaw puzzle, from his 2013 book of the same name, Lacombe’s ability to capture humanity and honest emotion is on full display.

Ancient spiritual practices meet modern digital art in the work of Android Jones. With colours both psychedelic and hyper-modern, and imagery combining Eastern iconography with a science fiction aesthetic, Jones is an artist who draws on old traditions and those yet to be born.

Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter fascinated by Japanese art and the female form. The Kiss (1907–1908) represents the pinnacle of Klimt’s “golden phase.� Oil and gold leaf combine to create sinuous shapes, and the lustrous palette and intricate patterns make the painting one of the great masterpieces of the early modern period.

Paperblanks Safavid journal portrays a leather filigree pattern incorporating handtooled motifs, retaining the elegance and style of the Islamic Golden Age even in our modern context. Symmetry is the hallmark of this binding, which features medallions, a pentagonal envelope flap closure and elaborately decorated “doublures� (interior covers), exquisite creations in cut-out leather and gilding.

Azulejos are painted, glazed ceramic tiles that date back to 13th-century Portugal. Today, we see these decorative tiles across a wide range of buildings, from monasteries, palaces and restaurants to bars, railway stations and family homes. The design on the tiles commonly related to the building’s unique history, and the individual pieces often end up forming an elaborate mosaic. The design seen here is pulled from the traditional tiles gracing the façades of a variety of old houses in Porto, Portugal.

Reproducing an expensive goatskin leather book binding crafted in Amsterdam in 1835 by Friedrich W.J.C. Kolb, our Onyx journal celebrates the harmony between art and science. The binding was originally designed to contain a Latin oration on the physiology of plants by the renowned Dutch botanist Willem Hendrik de Vriese. De Vriese, a member of the Royal Dutch Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts, named many species of plants in the Asterales order (Asterids).Today this significant binding can be found in the KB, National Library of the Netherlands, which was founded in 1798 with the intention to celebrate the written word and share Dutch creativity and innovation with the world.

English writer Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Gothic horror novel, Frankenstein, considered to be one of the first works of science fiction, tells of a scientist who creates a sentient being in a morality-pushing experiment.The story came to life during an 1816 trip that Shelley undertook with fellow Romantic era writers. The group travelled along the Rhine, stopping near Frankenstein Castle where an alchemist was said to have engaged in mysterious experiments two centuries before, and the group’s conversations were dominated by topics such as galvanism and the occult. When Lord Byron suggested a competition to see who could write the best ghost story, Shelley drew upon these experiences, as well as her own feelings of grief and guilt over the loss of a child, to craft her story.Frankenstein tackles universal questions such as “What is my purpose� and “Why am I here� – questions that always have, and always will, resonate with reading audiences. Today, Mary Shelley’s handwritten draft of Frankenstein is held at Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford.