Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

In his journal entry for January 13, 1962, Indiana records that it was necessary to clean the painting The Calumet, which had become streaked after a heavy rainstorm a few weeks ago. He notes using cotton to really remove the dirt, leaving little trace, and that he needed to take precaution on the balcony so that it might not happen again.

Indiana then documents that Jack Youngerman was back from Paris, and that Art (clinical psychologist and art collector Arthur Carr) came down to the Slip. He writes that Carr was miffed that he did not want to knock around the Village with him, and that they went to artist Lenore Tawney's studio instead. He records that Tawney gave Carr an Eye of God, and that he took the painting Le Premier Homme on loan.

Indiana also records working on the Eat panel of Eat/Die, painting the canvas after considering the mockup letters all day. A sketch of the panel is accompanied by notes indicating the work's color (cadmium red light), medium (oil on canvas), and dimensions (72 x 60 inches).