Field Notes Quarterly Edition for Spring 2021 commemorated the forty-nine preceding releases in their ongoing series that started with designing “Butcher Orange” way back in 2008. They went back to basics for the 3-Packs. Simple, beautiful, “Red Hot” French Paper Co. covers with silver metallic ink, surrounding 48 pages of silver Graph Grid. Metallic ink on a colored cover first appeared in their 5th release in 2009, “Just Below Zero,” and has made an appearance here and there since then.

They've used a lot of French Paper over the years but surprisingly this is their first use of Pop-Tone “Red Hot” stock. The books also feature an almost-blank flyleaf, with a Futura “50” peeking through a die-cut circle. Each 3-Pack contains three different flyleaf colors recalling a specific Quarterly Edition: Safety Orange from “Dime Novel,” Nightshift Blue from “End Papers,” and Gumdrop Green from “Grass Stain Green.”

In creating this set, they've been thinking a lot about all the editions that came before it, and what — if anything — they can conclude from this anniversary. Jim took a stab at it in his essay, “Counting to Fifty.”

• Proudly printed by the good people of Lake County Press, Inc., Waukegan, Ill.
• Memo Book Covers: French Pop-Tone 100#C “Red Hot,” with a thick, brute force, 1-color application of “Walking Liberty Silver” soy-based Toyo UV ink
• Memo Book Flyleaves: French 70#T “Nightshift Blue,” “Safety Orange,” or “Gumdrop Green.”
• Anniversary Desk Ledger first signature: French Paper Company Pop-Tone 100#C “Red Hot.” Body: Pop-Tone 70#T “Hot Fudge,” Pop-Tone 70#T “Pink Lemonade,” Construction 70#T “Nightshift Blue,” Construction 70#T “Safety Orange,” Pop-Tone 70#T “Gumdrop Green” printed with a thick, brute force application of “Dachshund Nose Black” and “Walking Liberty Silver” soy-based Toyo UV inks. Last Signature: French Paper Company Dur-O-Tone 70#T “Packing Brown Wrap,” printed with a thick, brute force 5-color application of white and process-color soy-based Toyo UV inks.
• Memo Book and Anniversary Desk Ledger Innards: Finch Paper Opaque Smooth 60#T “Bright White,” with a fine, 1-color application of “New Friends Silver” soy-based Toyo ink.
• Memo Book and Anniversary Desk Ledger covers, flyleaves, and innards printed on a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105 40" 6-color UV printing press.
• Memo Book bound with a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 270 5-pocket saddle stitcher with cover feeder/scorer and Rima RS 10S in-line stacker at Lake County Press, Waukegan, Ill. Anniversary Desk Ledger hand-assembled and bound with American & Efird Tex 40 D-Core 32187 thread on an Aster sewing machine and Kolbus KM600 binder at Reindl Bindery, Germantown, Wisc.
• Memo Book Corners precisely rounded to a 3/8" (9.5mm) radius. Anniversary Desk Ledger corners rounded to a 3/8" (9.5mm) radius with a Challenge DCM double round-corner machine.
• Memo Book Graph grid: 3/16" × 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm). Anniversary Desk Ledger Dot-Graph Grid: 3/16"× 3/16" (4.7mm × 4.7mm).
• Memo book dimensions are 3-1/2" × 5-1/2" (89mm × 140mm). Anniversary Desk Ledger dimensions are 9" × 5–1/2" (228mm × 140mm).
• FIELD NOTES uses only the Futura typeface family (Paul Renner, 1927) in its materials.
• All FIELD NOTES memo books are printed and manufactured in the U.S.A.