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Looking at the sketches a famous artist made is a bit like peeking under a Victorian lady's skirt—you get a glimpse of the fabulous underpinnings and complicated constructions (but not more than that, excuse us!) Harvard's Fogg Art Museum owns a large collection of sketchbooks from artists of the 18th through 20th centuries, and 10 are showcased here. Frenchman Jacques-Louis David shows a precise, measured approach in his Sketchbook No. 14 from 1805-06. This book outlines the many people shown in the enormous painting of "The Coronation of Napoleon I." American artists Benjamin Champney and Sanford Gifford both sketched more pastoral scenes in New England. These artists spent their summers drawing nature and took their sketchbooks back to the city to paint over the winters. German-born George Grosz's sketchbook of 1950-51 brings us smack into the modern world with stark skyscrapers juxtaposed against mousetraps and an occasional nude. What was going on underneath these artists' work? Lift a page's corner and take a peek.

We love found objects. There, we said it. Given our proclivity, this site is a welcome twist on the provenance of items left behind and forgotten. The site's title comes from a lost journal purchased at a knickknack store in Hong Kong. This vintage diary was then carefully scanned page by page to reveal its treasure trove of contents. The twist? Just about everything in the book is written in Chinese characters. The site hopes to harness the power of the Web in order to unlock the mysteries within this long-forgotten book. If your translation skills are sharp and you have a few minutes to contribute, your efforts can help unravel tiny secrets that otherwise would have been lost to the sands of time.

This is what every blank book dreams of—brand loyalty and passionate writers. But for the Moleskine journal, it's no dream. The small black notebook with the elastic band was famously employed by well-known writers and artists—from Chatwin to Picasso to Hemingway to Van Gogh— but the entire line enjoys a dedicated following today. In this online love fest, some fans tell how to augment the books; some exhibit artistry on exotic themes or everyday inspirations. Others review what pens they use, or record movie sightings. And some take on the Wandering Moleskine Project, where each person can use only one page before sending the notebook on to the next participant. Be careful, newbies to the Moleskine. You may just end up with one of your own.