HOW PUTTING PEN TO PAPER CHANGED THE WORLD

Mon 17 Nov 2025, 3-4pm

At the Museum and Online

An Exclusive Talk for Members of the Ashmolean

This event takes place onsite in the Headley Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom

Onsite tickets are £15, online tickets are £10. Booking is essential.

Book below

With Roland Allen, writer and author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper

In this talk, author Roland Allen will share highlights from his widely praised history, showing the pivotal role notebooks have played – and continue to play – in shaping the creativity and ingenuity of artists, writers, scientists and thinkers of all kinds.

The simple act of moving pen across paper has been a highly valued and transformational tool for thinking for 800 years.

Black and white sketch and notes taken during lessons in watercolour painting, from Samuel Palmer to Louisa Twining, 1856

Diary Page 83 of the 1922-1926 excavations of Knossos by Sir Arthur Evans drawing shows butterflies and strange creatures

A sketch by Leonardo da Vinci showing studies of figures and machines

Left: Samuel Palmer notes from a watercolour lesson to Louisa Twining; 1856. Centre: Diary page of the 1922-1926 excavations of Knossos by Sir Arthur Evans. Right: Studies of figures and machinery, Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1480-1481, metalpoint on pale pink prepared paper. All images © Ashmolean Museum

Notebooks and sketchbooks that survive provide glimpses into life in very different times, as well as the creative thinking of remarkable minds. From the Renaissance wonders of da Vinci’s sketchbooks to Charles Darwin’s field observations, they document the thought processes that have shaped our understanding of the world; but the everyday ledgers, logbooks and journals of the less famous have been every bit as influential.

In his talk, Roland will also highlight notebooks and sketches in the Ashmolean's extensive collection, including Tintoretto's sketchbooks and diary archives from Sir Arthur Evans during the excavation of Knossos, as well as more recent notebooks from Radiohead's Thom Yorke and contemporary artist Stanley Donwood, featured in our current exhibition This Is What You Get.