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)

At the risk of this post becoming immediately outdated if the upcoming 2017 Fall Edition turns out to be a green edition, I present you some pictures of green Field Notes! There have been many green Quarterly Editions so far, and in this post I'm focusing on a broader range of the color, including some non-solid covers that are predominantly green.

Pictured above, in the top row (from left):

Unexposed (Fall 2014)
Starbucks Capitol Hill
Neon Ice Pop
Summer Camp
Our503
National Crop “Soybeans” (Spring 2012)
Flagged by Ellen
Grass Stain Green (Summer 2009)
Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” (Fall 2014)

Bottom row (from left):

DDC Standard Issue “Sorta Jade”
Starbucks Coffee Origins “Asia/Pacific”
Workshop Companion “Gardening” (Summer 2015)
Portland
L.L. Bean (2016)
Shenandoah “Chestnut Oak” (Fall 2014)
Day Game “Outfield Green” (Summer 2012)
Ambition (ledger) (Winter 2014)
Balsam Fir (Winter 2010)

About half of these are Quarterly Editions; the non-COLORS editions are italicized in the list above. Hmm, looks like green is quite a common color choice, huh? And it’s good to see them spread out among all four seasons.

The above covers are all matte in texture, except Starbucks Capitol Hill, Starbucks Coffee Origins, and Unexposed. These feature Sappi McCoy 100#C White as the cover stock, and have that slightly glossy, soft-touch feel. Capitol Hill is unique in that it is embossed all over with a polka dot pattern. Ambition is also embossed but only the logotype is. Grass Stain Green is letter-pressed on the other hand, and Balsam Fir and Day Game are foil-stamped in white.

All are bound by silver-colored staples, except Starbucks Capitol Hill and Starbucks Coffee Origins (white staples), Ambition (gold-colored), and Workshop Companion (brass).

As you can see above, Ambition is the only one with gilded pages. I won’t get too deep into comparing what’s inside these memo books, but Ambition is also the only one here with the ledger format. Also, not all are graph-grid. Unexposed and Capitol Hill are reticle-graph grid, and Our503 and DDC have blank pages. Day Game, Workshop Companion, and Starbucks Coffee Origins are dot grid.

One of the fun things about comparing Field Notes colors, at least for me, is discovering duplicates, where the same cover stock is used. I think it’s cool how they manage to interpret the same paper and color in different ways, so it doesn’t bother me when a new edition uses the same cover stock as an older one. Here are some notable examples (I won’t get into the white cover stocks that are printed green):

Balsam Fir and Ambition both use French Paper Speckletone in “Olive” as their cover.
National Crop and Flagged by Ellen use French Paper Pop-Tone in “Sour Apple”.
Day Game “Outfield Green” and Shenandoah “Chestnut Oak” both use French Paper Pop-Tone in “Jellybean Green” (outside on the Shenandoah’s custom-duplex cover)
Grass Stain Green and Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” feature French Paper Pop-Tone in “Gumdrop Green” (again, just on the outside of Shenandoah’s custom-duplex cover).

Ambition and Balsam Fir, in the upper right corner (I’m reusing old photos, can’t you tell?)

Shenandoah “Sweet Birch” & Grass Stain Green on the left, Day Game & Shenandoah “Chestnut Oak” in the middle.

Other custom green Field Notes that I know of but don’t have:

Webstock 2013
Flag Nor Fail
The Field Museum (oh how I want this!)
Carhartt

Both Flag Nor Fail and The Field Museum use French Paper Pop-Tone 100#C “Gumdrop Green” – same as Grass Stain Green and Shenandoah “Sweet Birch”. Popular green paper of choice, apparently! It’s not hard to see why, though; it’s a lovely, textured, medium green. Webstock 2013 also looks like the same “Gumdrop Green” but I can’t be sure. If you can verify this or know of other “green” Field Notes editions, do leave a comment!

What are your thoughts on green Field Notes so far? Want to see more, or have we had enough? Personally, I’d love to see French Paper Pop-Tone “Limeade” someday or shades of dark green some more, preferably in linen-texture. One can only hope.

Related Links and Notes

My other Field Notes color comparison posts

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