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When we travel, or get out of our usual environs and into nature, our thinking changes. We see the world in a new light, and consider our own experiences and thoughts differently. It’s with this in mind that we present our sixth issue of Plumbago, with essays, poems, comics, illustrations, and more, about analog tools of creation, but through the lens of traveling and immersing ourselves in nature.

Here are just a few pieces you’ll see:

• Ana Reinert and Bob Atkins about collecting globes

• Baron Fig’s founder Joey Cofone on leading an urban sketching group through New York City

• Tim Wasem, with an Essay about taking a road trip

• Vivian Wagner, on retreating away from regular life

And lots more.

It’s all bound within a cover featuring the detailed, intricate art of Diane Wright, a graphite artist.

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For issue five, we’re taking a step back from just stationery to look at another topic near and dear to our hearts — collecting and collections.

Collectors get a lot of flack around the stationery circles. “I’m a user, not a collector,” people say. But we all do it — we all buy that second pack of Field Notes to stash away, just in case it is worth something in a few years. We have many more bullet pencils than we’ll ever realistically use.

This issue celebrates those people. The ones who collect not just stationery items, but other interesting and strange analog things. Toasters. Stamps. Baseball cards. And sure, notebooks, pencils and pens.

This issue is full of fiction, essay, comics, illustrations and more, each contributor talking about their collections or how they collect. In this issue, you’ll find:

• A comic by Amy Noseworthy retelling the story of how she started collecting comics in her childhood.

• Gregory Dresser sharing stories about collecting autographs of Negro League baseball players

• Michael Harris, with a tale about the ghost of Rev. Francis Stainforth, who had the most comprehensive collection of the works of female poets of his time.

• Dan Lilie’s overview of the history of Schwinn bicycles and their collectability.

• And much, much more.

All this, wrapped in a cover beautifully drawn by Meredith Miotke, talented illustrator and Pencil Lady (of CW Pencils fame). It’s coming in two colorways (both pictured here) — we’ll pick which you get, but if you order an even number of issues, we’ll make sure you’re getting an equal number of colors.

You're buying a digital download of a high-resolution PDF of the zine.

This time around, we’re focusing on creative nonfiction and memoir, organized around the question, “how has analog changed my life?” Our pages are full of childhood memories, comics, illustrations, graphic narratives, and more. And thanks to regular contributor and now editor Harry C. Marks, we’re even more confident in our overall package.

Just a few of the stories you’ll find in this 60-page issue:

• Toffer Surovec with his personal essay of school supplies and learning disabilities

• Dan Lilie with a history of IBM and pencils

• Jess Barrett-Sattel and her visual story about Japanese color swatches

• The Erasable Podcast’s own Johnny Gamber and how analog made him an internet-extrovert

• …All bound together by a cover drawn by The Well-Appointed Desk’s Ana Reinert.

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Our third release is shipping, and it’s better than ever! This issue celebrates fiction and poetry about stationery — and, of course, comics, illustrations, art and more! You’ll find nearly a dozen short stories and novel excerpts, lots of poems, haikus and even limericks. Here are just a few of the features in this issue:

• Father Kyle Sanders writes a story from the perspective of an Eberhard Faber American Naturals pencil

• A collaboration between poet Judy Wilson and fine graphite artist Diane Wright

• Harky Jewett presents a type-written science-fiction story about the fate of mankind

• A big, bright graffiti-style portrait of some of our favorite pencils

• The 5 winners of the six-word story contest, illustrated by Becky Aiken

• Original artwork by Ana Reinert of The Well-Appointed Desk

• And lots, lots more

At 36 pages long, this issue is chock-full of writing and illustration. We’re celebrating the spirit of the hackwing; what we call a pencil modded from its original design to suit the user’s style and usage preferences.

You're buying a digital download of a high-resolution PDF of the zine.

Just a few features you’ll find here:

• “What I’ve Learned from Field Notes”: A piece by urban sketcher Tina Koyama
• “Rabbinic Musings in Graphite”: about how pencils aid in the intense study environs of rabbi school by Mordechai Lightstone
• “How to Keep Score at a Baseball Game Using a Pencil”: A piece by Gregory Dresser
• “Are You Too Obsessed with Stationery?”: A quiz to help you measure your sickness
• A comic by the Mad Penciler
• An editorial by Dr. J. Frank, encouraging you to lovingly destroy your pencils
• And lots, lots more.