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 page for June 28, 1962, Indiana records that workers "begin [demoliton] on the front section of [the] South Street building, [leaving] a one story shell in the rear in which [to] collect bricks." As a result, he says that J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss) bought blinds, which were "not needed as yet."

The entry includes a sketch of Gem, a wood on gesso sculpture measuring 66 3/4 x 11 x 5 3/4 inches. Indiana notes that he removed the letters that had been part of the construction for some time.

Indiana also details a shopping trip with Kloss: walking to Fulton and buying a collar for his cat Particci, as well as socks, toothpaste, and soap, and then getting shoe shines at Hudson Terminal.