The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 29, July 16, 2006, Article 20

BOOK SIZES

"The names of book sizes are based on the old system, still widely
used, of considering the size of a page as a fraction of the large
sheet of paper on which it was printed... In printing books, an even
number (as 4, 8, 16, 32, 64) of pages is printed on each side of a
single large sheet, which is then folded so that the pages are in
proper sequence and the outside edges are cut so that the book will
open. Except for the largest size, the folio, the name of the size
indicates the fractional part of the sheet the page occupies (as
octavo "eighth")."

For example, 12mo or twelvemo (also called duodecimo), is a book
printed 12 pages to a large sheet, then cut and bound.  Bigger
numbers mean SMALLER books; 12mo is smaller than 8vo or 4to.

For more information on book size descriptions, see:
Book Size Descriptions

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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