Famous Moleskine Users

• Bruce Chatwin  (1940-1989) - He described his notebooks in detail in his book The Songlines (and is responsible for naming them 'les carnets moleskines'). He purchased his notebooks from a stationery store in Paris, who was supplied by a stationer in Tours, France, until the stationer closed down in 1986 due to the death of its owner. Chatwin's notebooks are the basis for the Modo and Modo product; the company's website quotes extensively from The Songlines.

• Luis Sepúlveda (1949- ) - The other author quoted on Modo and Modo's website, Sepúlveda describes the occasion when Chatwin gave him a moleskine notebook in his book Full Circle (1996). Interestingly enough, he describes the notebook itself as 'the kind preferred by writers such as Céline and Hemingway'. It's not clear if Chatwin told him this, or if he is quoting from Modo and Modo's later marketing hype.

• Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961) - Famous for the book Journey to the End of Night (1932). It would seem that unless Sepúlveda was quoting from Modo and Modo's marketing hype, his quotation above is the only documented basis for Modo and Modo's claim.

• Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) - In the opening essay of his memoir A Moveable Feast (1964 posthumous publication), Hemingway describes working on a short story in a Paris café. He writes the story in a notebook which fits in the inside pocket of his coat. It's not clear if the notebook was a moleskine design, since Hemingway doesn't give a detailed description, but his essay 'A Good Café on the Place Saint-Michel', is the basis for Modo and Modo's claim.

• Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) - Seven pocket sketchbooks are kept at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; a picture of one of these books appears on the Moleskine website. Since the book pictured has a cloth band attached as well as a hidden pocket that can barely be seen in the back cover, it could be said to be a 'moleskine' design; but it's not clear if the book was manufactured by the same stationer who made Chatwin's notebooks, or if the book was made by another stationer.

• Ben Saunders Explorer, survivalist, motivational speaker and someone who looks like they have fun!