A Narrative Media Publication · 2026
100 brands that shape how we write, draw and create.
Foreword by Theo Paphitis
A pen or pencil. A notebook. A sheet of paper.
Objects made to be used, given – and kept, collected, and returned to over time.
Stationery Icons brings together one hundred of the world’s most influential brands, from historic makers to contemporary design-led names shaping the category today, tracing how writing tools moved beyond function alone to become part of everyday identity.
The Object
A lasting record of 600 years of stationery culture.
Stationery Icons that define the culture of writing – from the papermakers of thirteenth-century Europe to the design-led names shaping the market today. Each profile presents the brand’s history, material development and cultural significance through archival imagery and primary research.
Produced as a large-format hardback, the book is designed as a permanent reference: to
be read, consulted, collected, given and returned to. Issued as a limited first edition.
Editorial Approach
The Objects We Keep
Stationery has never been only functional. It marks decisions, records ideas, carries identity. From the earliest writing instruments to contemporary design-led makers, the objects remain constant — even as their role evolves. This book documents that continuity.
Inside the Book
From the Pages
Inside the Book
One Hundred Brands
From Montblanc and Smythson to Kaweco and Tombow, the book spans six hundred years of the stationery market – pen makers, paper houses, notebook manufacturers, instrument designers and contemporary studios.
Order
Designed to be given – and kept
Stationery Icons sits between reference and display - a book for stationery lovers and everyone who values the tools of thinking, from collectors and designers to those discovering the subject for the first time.
For those who collect, those who write and draw, those who give considered gifts — and anyone who has ever kept an object for reasons beyond its use. Produced as a large-format hardback, Stationery Icons is designed as a permanent reference for stationery lovers and book collectors alike — to be consulted, returned to, and kept.
Limited First Edition · Hardback
ISBN 978-1-0676849-0-7
Plus Pack & Post
Ships end June 2026
Free UK delivery for orders of £100 or more
Publisher
Narrative MediaA publishing studio dedicated to documenting the world's most enduring brands through design-led, large-format books combining editorial rigour with the presence of a true reference object.
Author
Christopher Leonard-Morgan
Former magazine publisher and event organiser. Founder of the London Stationery Show,
National Stationery Week and World Stationery Day, and the Handwriting Matters campaign. A
Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers.
Stationery Icons is the product of
extensive archival research across six centuries of the industry.
Authority
Published with the support of The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, whose history and records extend back to 1403.