Walk into any stationery shop in France and you’ll see an extensive array of these beloved notebooks. Here, we are offering the spiral-bound version of the classic composition books introduced to French schoolchildren in primary school; the notebooks, in various bindings, sizes, and colors then become seemingly indispensable for decades to come.  In cafes, you’ll see adults writing in them; in grocery stores, consulting them; they’re pulled out of briefcases, purses, and backpacks; they’re on desks in libraries and in bookstores. Anywhere someone needs to write something, there seems to be a Clairefontaine notebook.

This version is ruled, with a margin; the spiral allows the notebook to lie flat (we also offer the more basic model with stapled binding). The pages are smooth ivory French-milled 90g paper, ruled, acid-free and pH neutral, fountain pen- and marker-friendly. 

The French company that manufactures these notebooks was founded in 1858 in the town of Etival Clairefontaine, 90 km from Strasbourg, in the valley of the Meurthe river. There, the production of paper was to become an important business because of the availability of rags supplied by the local textile industry.  In 1880 the company’s paper mill began manufacturing envelopes, soon to be followed by the iconic notebooks. 

Softbound; Side wire bound; 60 sheets (120 pages) 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 (A5).  Choose by cover color.

See Also: Classic French Notebooks—Spiral Bound- Size A4