Disbanded notepad of cream lightweight wove paper186 x 162 mm originally covered in thin card 204 x 162 mm. The pages were attached at the top with two staples and perforated approximately 15 mm below this. The drawings are unsigned and undated; they were numbered 1-67 in ink top left on the verso.

Moore made some drawings of war subjects which predate the Shelter Sketchbooks, see HMF 1552a. He did not draw directly in the sketchbooks whilst in the Underground but made notes and rapid sketches, see HMF 1755, using these (and members of his family as models) as the basis for the sketchbook studies. From these studies he produced many larger, more finished drawings.

This sketchbook was seen by Kenneth Clark, chairman of the War Artists' Advisory Committee, in December 1940, and the following month four large drawings were purchased by the WAAC. By September 1941 it had acquired a further thirteen drawings, which were subsequently distributed to museums and art galleries around the country.

Moore's reminiscences on the Shelter Sketchbooks may be found in the introduction to the British Museum publication of 1988, reprinted from the introduction to the Shelter Sketchbook facsimile published in 1967.