The Long and Tall of It

Many of our limited editions have explored interesting chapters in the history of American printing, publishing and design and this one goes deep (and sideways) into just such a story. In 1943, the U.S. government and the American publishing industry collaborated to create what came to be known as the “Armed Services Editions.” Over the next few years, more than 120 million books representing over 1,200 titles were printed and distributed to overseas troops during the Second World War. The books were printed in an odd horizontal format with bright, primary-colored covers — and that was what caught our attention. 

Our Winter 2025 release, the “1943” Edition was inspired by the Armed Service Editions, including three unique “Two-Way” Memo Books plus a new release from Field Notes Brand Books, Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.

We created the “1943” Memo Books to mimic the ASE’s horizontal orientation. While they’re our usual 5.5" x 3.5" Memo Book size, they’re the first with two staples on the short side instead of three on the long side. But while mocking up prototypes, we realized the short-edge binding also works great for a vertical notebook! So it’s up to you, there’s a horizontal cover on one side, and a vertical cover on the other. Whether you want to flip the top of your Field Notes open to take notes as you interview a witness, or spread the pages wide for a panoramic sketch of a crime scene, the 1943 “Two-Way” Edition is the right tool for your investigation.

You’ll find bright red, yellow, and blue books in each 3-Pack. Covers are printed on sturdy Westrock Tango 12pt coated-one-side cover stock. The body of the book is 60# Domtar Cougar “Natural” (very popular in last winter‘s sold-out “Vintage” Edition), with an “Aged Newsprint” 3/16" graph grid.

REVISITING THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

We often find ourselves in a historical “rabbit hole,” as we learned more of the history behind the Armed Services Editions, we became obsessed. Long story short, we dug in deep, and published the first ASE-styled book in 78 years: the Black Mask syndicated version of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. It’s available separately here, along with the whole backstory.