Book size

{{Short description|Form a book is produced into}} [[File:Comparison book sizes.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Comparison of some book sizes based on American Library Association<ref name=ALA1943/>]] The size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover.<ref name="Roberts 1982 Book sizes"/> A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from ''folio'' (the largest), to ''quarto'' (smaller) and ''octavo'' (still smaller). Historically, these terms referred to the format of the book, a technical term used by printers and bibliographers to indicate the size of a leaf in terms of the size of the original sheet. For example, a quarto (from Latin ''quartō'', ablative form of ''quartus'', fourth<ref name="OED 1989">{{Cite book| title=Oxford English Dictionary| edition=2nd| year=1989| publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>) historically was a book printed on sheets of paper folded in half twice, with the first fold at right angles to the second, to produce 4 leaves (or 8 pages), each leaf one fourth the size of the original sheet printed – note that a ''leaf'' refers to the single piece of paper, whereas a ''page'' is one side of a leaf. Because the actual format of many modern books cannot be determined from examination of the books, bibliographers may not use these terms in scholarly descriptions.

==Book formats== In the hand press period (up to about 1820) books were manufactured by printing text on both sides of a full sheet of paper and then folding the paper one or more times into a group of leaves or ''gathering''. The binder would sew the gatherings (sometimes also called ''signatures'') through their inner hinges and attached to cords in the spine to form the book block. Before the covers were bound to the book, the block of text pages was sometimes trimmed along the three unbound edges to open the folds of the paper and to produce smooth edges for the book. When the leaves were not trimmed, the reader would have to cut open the leaf edges using a knife. [[File:Traditional book sizes.svg|thumb|Traditional book sizes/formats used in English-speaking countries. Based on the {{convert|19|×|24|in|mm|round=0.5|adj=on|disp=or}} printing paper size, which equals two folio leaves, four quarto leaves, eight octavo leaves, etc. For comparison, common American letter size is shown in green.]] Books made by printing two pages of text on each side of a sheet of paper, which is then folded once to form two leaves or four pages, are referred to as ''folios'' (from Latin, ''foliō'', ablative of ''folium'', leaf<ref name="OED 1989"/>). Those made by printing four text pages on each side of a sheet of paper and folding the paper twice to form a gathering containing four leaves or eight pages are called ''quartos'' (fourths). Similarly, books made by printing eight pages of text on each side of a sheet, which was then folded three times to form gatherings of eight leaves or sixteen pages each, are called ''octavos''. The size of the resulting pages in these cases depends, of course, on the size of the full sheet used to print them and how much the leaves were trimmed before binding, but where the same size paper is used, folios are the largest, followed by quartos and then octavos.<ref name="Gaskell 1972"/>{{rp|80–81}} The proportion of leaves of quartos tends to be squarer than that of folios or octavos.<ref name="McKerrow 1927"/>{{rp|164}}

These various production methods are referred to as the format of the book. These terms are often abbreviated, using 4to for quarto, 8vo for octavo, and so on. The octavo format, with eight leaves per gathering, has half the page size of the quarto format before trimming. Smaller formats include the ''duodecimo'' (12mo or ''twelvemo''), with twelve leaves per sheet and pages one-third the size of the quarto format, and the ''sextodecimo'' (16mo or ''sixteenmo''), with sixteen leaves per sheet, half the size of the octavo format and one quarter the size of the quarto. The vast majority of books were printed in the folio, quarto, octavo or duodecimo formats.<ref name="Gaskell 1972"/>{{rp|82}}

There are many variations in how such books were produced. For example, folios were rarely made by simply binding up a group of two leaf gatherings; instead several printed leaf pairs would be inserted within another, to produce a larger gathering of multiple leaves that would be more convenient for binding.<ref name="McKerrow 1927"/>{{rp|30–31}} For example, three two-leaf printed sheets might be inserted in a fourth, producing gatherings of eight leaves or sixteen pages each. Bibliographers still refer to such books as folios (and not octavos) because the original full sheets were folded once to produce two leaves, and describe such gatherings as ''folios in 8s''. Similarly, a book printed as an octavo, but bound with gatherings of four leaves each, is called an ''octavo in 4s''.<ref name="McKerrow 1927"/>{{rp|28}}

In determining the format of a book, bibliographers will study the number of leaves in a gathering, their proportion and sizes and also the arrangement of the chain lines and watermarks in the paper.<ref name="Gaskell 1972"/>{{rp|84–107}}

In order for the pages to come out in the correct order, the printers would have to properly lay out the pages of type in the printing press. For example, to print two leaves in folio containing pages 1 through 4, the printer would print pages 1 and 4 on one side of the sheet and, after that has dried, print pages 2 and 3 on the other side. If a printer was printing a folio in 8s, as described above, he would have to print pages 1 and 16 on one side of a leaf with pages 2 and 15 on the other side of that leaf, etc. The arrangement of the pages of type in the press is referred to as the ''imposition'' and there are a number of methods of imposing pages for the various formats, some of which involve cutting the printed pages before binding.<ref name="Gaskell 1972"/>{{rp|80–110}} :''See Further reading for more on imposition schemes.''

==Modern book production== As printing and paper technology developed, it became possible to produce and to print on much larger sheets or rolls of paper and it may not be apparent (or even possible to determine) from examination of a modern book how the paper was folded to produce them. For example, a modern novel may consist of gatherings of sixteen leaves, but may actually have been printed with sixty-four pages on each side of a very large sheet of paper.<ref name="Bowers 1949"/>{{rp|429}} Similarly, the actual printing format cannot be determined for books that are perfect bound, where every leaf in the book is completely cut out (i.e., not conjugate to another leaf as in gatherings) and is glued into the spine. Modern books are commonly called ''folio'', ''quarto'' and ''octavo'' based simply on their size rather than the format in which they were actually produced, if that can even be determined. Scholarly bibliographers may describe such books based on the number of leaves in each gathering (eight leaves per gathering forming an octavo), even where the actual number of pages printed on the original sheet is unknown<ref name="Gaskell 1972"/>{{rp|80–81}} or may reject the use of these terms for modern books entirely.{{refn|group="note"|''Cf.'' Bowers,<ref name="Bowers 1949"/>{{rp|429–430}} suggesting that a book with eight leaves per gathering where the format cannot be determined should be referred to as ''{{nowrap|in 8s}}'' and not ''octavo''.}}

Today, octavo and quarto are the most common book sizes, but many books are produced in larger and smaller sizes as well. Other terms for book size have developed, an ''elephant folio'' being up to {{cvt|23|in|mm|order=flip}} tall, an ''atlas folio'' {{cvt|25|in|mm|order=flip}}, and a ''double elephant folio'' {{cvt|50|in|mm|order=flip}} tall.

==Paper sizes== {{main|Paper size}}

During the hand press period, full sheets of printing paper were manufactured in a great variety of sizes which were given a number of names, such as ''pot'', ''demy'', ''foolscap'', ''crown'', etc.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ringwalt|editor1-first=John Luther|title=American Encyclopaedia of Printing|date=1871|publisher=Menamin & Ringwalt|location=Philadelphia|pages=139–140|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztQoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA139|chapter=Dimensions of Paper}}</ref><ref name=Savage1841>{{cite book|last1=Savage|first1=William|title=A Dictionary of the Art of Printing|date=1841|publisher=Burt Franklin|location=New York|pages=560–566|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S_s1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA560|chapter=Paper}}</ref> These were not standardized and the actual sizes varied across countries and times.<ref name="Gaskell 1972"/>{{rp|67–70, 73–75}}

The size and proportions of a book depend on the size of the original full sheet. If a sheet {{cvt|19|by|25|in|mm|order=flip}} is used to print a quarto, the resulting untrimmed pages, will be approximately half as large in each dimension: width {{cvt|9+1/2|in|mm|order=flip}} and height {{cvt|12+1/2|in|mm|order=flip}}. An octavo page, oriented a quarter turn from the full sheet, would have height {{cvt|9+1/2|in|mm|order=flip}}—{{nowrap|{{frac|1|2}} in × 19}}—and width {{cvt|6+1/4|in|mm|order=flip}}—{{nowrap|{{frac|1|4}} in × 25}}. The sizes of books of the same format will differ in proportion to the full sheets used to print them. For example, a typical octavo printed in Italy or France in the {{nowrap|16th century}} is roughly the size of a modern mass market paperback book, but an English {{nowrap|18th-century}} octavo is noticeably larger, more like a modern trade paperback or hardcover novel{{Cn|date=May 2024}}.

==Common formats and sizes==

===United States and traditional United Kingdom=== The following table is adapted from the scale of the American Library Association,<ref name=ALA1943>{{Cite book| editor-first=Elizabeth Hardy| editor-last=Thompson| title=ALA Glossary of Library Terms, with a selection of terms in related fields| publisher=American Library Association| year=1943| isbn=9780838900000| page=[https://archive.org/details/alaglossaryoflib0000amer/page/151 151]| url=https://archive.org/details/alaglossaryoflib0000amer/page/151}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://papersdb.com/books|title=PapersDB (Papers Database)|website=papersdb.com}}</ref> which uses a basis sheet of {{convert|19|by|25|in|mm|0|adj=on}}<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Levine-Clark|editor1-first=Michael|editor2-last=Carter|editor2-first=Toni M.|title=ALA glossary of library and information science|date=2013|publisher=American Library Association|location=Chicago, Ill.|isbn=9780838911112|page=38|edition=4th|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQObAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> which is, confusingly if not explained by the source, half the text/book stock sheet of {{convert|25|by|38|in|mm|0|adj=on}}, and in which ''size'' refers to the dimensions of the cover (trimmed pages will be somewhat smaller, often by about {{nowrap|{{1/4}} inch}} or {{nowrap|5 mm}}<ref name="Roberts 1982 Book sizes"/>). The words before octavo signify the traditional names for unfolded paper sheet sizes. Other dimensions may exist as well.<ref name=Savage1841 /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ambrose|first1=Gavin|last2=Harris|first2=Paul|title=The Layout Book|date=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury|edition=2nd|pages=76–77|isbn=9781474239318|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ETLbBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA76}}</ref> ''US Trade'' size corresponds with octavo and is popular for hardbacks. ''Mass market paperback'' corresponds with duodecimo.

{| class="wikitable" |+ US book formats and corresponding sizes |- !rowspan=2| Name !!rowspan=2| Abbreviations !!rowspan=2| Leaves !!rowspan=2|Pages !!colspan=2| Approximate cover size (width × height) |- ! {{resx|inch|inch}} !! {{resx|mm|mm}} |- ! folio | 2º ''or'' fo || 2 || 4 || {{size|12|19|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! quarto | 4º ''or'' 4to || 4 || 8 || {{size|9+1/2|12|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! Imperial octavo |rowspan=6| 8º ''or'' 8vo ||rowspan=6| 8 ||rowspan=6| 16 || {{size|8+1/4|11+1/2|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! Super octavo | {{size|7|11|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! Royal octavo | {{size|6+1/4|10|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! Medium octavo | {{size|6+1/2|9+1/4|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! octavo | {{size|6|9|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! Crown octavo | {{size|5+3/8|8|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! duodecimo ''or'' twelvemo | 12º ''or'' 12mo || 12 || 24 || {{size|5|7+3/8|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! sextodecimo ''or'' sixteenmo | 16º ''or'' 16mo || 16 || 32 || {{size|4|6+3/4|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! octodecimo ''or'' eighteenmo | 18º ''or'' 18mo || 18 || 36 || {{size|4|6+1/2|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! trigesimo-secundo ''or'' thirty-twomo | 32º ''or'' 32mo || 32 || 64 || {{size|3+1/2|5+1/2|in|mm|f=2}} |- ! quadragesimo-octavo ''or'' forty-eightmo | 48º ''or'' 48mo || 48 || 96 || {{size|2+1/2|4|in|mm|f=3}} |- ! sexagesimo-quarto ''or'' sixty-fourmo | 64º ''or'' 64mo || 64 || 128 || {{size|2|3|in|mm|f=2}} |}

===United Kingdom=== A common paperback size in the UK is B-format, which is used, for example, by Penguin Classics. This contrasts with A-format, which is slightly narrower than ISO B6, and C-format.<ref name="Wilson-Fletcher2001" />

{| class="wikitable" |+ British paperback sizes ! Format !! {{resx|mm|mm}} !! {{resx|inch|inch}} !! Aspect ratio |- ! A | {{size|110|178|p=8|ar=on}} |- ! B | {{size|129|198|p=8|ar=on}} |- ! C | {{size|135|216|p=8|ar=on}} |}

Formerly the descriptions octavo, quarto, duodecimo, etc. were used (see table under United States above), and indeed still are when describing older books.

===Australia=== Australia uses similar paperback sizes to the UK, except C-format is a bigger size. Additionally there is a B+ format.<ref> {{cite web |title=standard book formats |url=https://preloaded.com.au/fact-and-fiction/ |access-date=2025-10-22}} </ref>

{| class="wikitable" |+ Australian paperback sizes ! Format !! {{resx|mm|mm}} !! {{resx|inch|inch}} |- ! A Format | {{size|111|181|p=8}} |- ! B Format | {{size|128|198|p=8}} |- ! B+ Format | {{size|135|210|p=8}} |- ! C Format | {{size|153|234|p=8}} |}

===Japan=== In book construction, Japan uses a mixture of ISO A-series, JIS B-series, and several traditional Japanese paper sizes. A- and B-series signatures are folded from a sheet slightly larger than ISO A1 and JIS B1, respectively, then trimmed to size. The most commonly encountered sizes are listed below.

{| class="wikitable" |+ Japanese book formats and corresponding sizes |- ! rowspan="2"|Name !! rowspan="2"|Translation !! rowspan="2"|Leaves !! rowspan="2"|Pages !! colspan="2"|Approximate cover size (width × height) !! rowspan="2"|Notes |- ! {{resx|mm|mm}} !! {{resx|inch|inch}} |- ! {{nihongo2|B4判}} | JIS B4 || 8 || 16 || {{size|257|364}} | Folded from {{nihongo|B-series standard sheets|B列本判}} measuring {{cvt|765|x|1085|mm}} |- ! {{nihongo2|A4判}} | ISO A4 || 8 || 16 || {{size|210|297}} | Folded from {{nihongo|A-series standard sheets|A列本判}} measuring {{cvt|625|x|880|mm}} |- ! {{nihongo2|AB判}} | AB || 16 || 32 || {{size|210|257}} | Has the width of ISO A4 and height of JIS B5 |- ! {{nihongo2|B5判}} | JIS B5 || 16 || 32 || {{size|182|257}} || |- ! {{nihongo2|菊判}} | ''Kiku'' ("Chrysanthemum") || 16 || 32 || {{size|150|220}} | Folded from sheets (also called "''kiku''") of {{cvt|636|x|939|mm}} |- ! {{nihongo2|A5判}} | ISO A5 || 16 || 32 || {{size|148|210}} || |- ! {{nihongo2|重箱判}} | ''Jūbako'' ("Tiered Box") || 20 || 40 || {{size|182|206}} | Name refers to squarish shape; <br />folded from B-series standard sheets, yielding 8 more pages than JIS B5. |- ! {{nihongo2|四六判}} | ''Shi-Roku'' ("4 × 6") || 32 || 64 || {{size|127|188}} | Name refers to approximate dimensions in ''sun''; <br />folded from sheets of {{cvt|788|x|1091|mm}} |- ! {{nihongo2|B6判}} | JIS B6 || 32 || 64 || {{size|128|182}} || |- ! {{nihongo2|新書判}} / {{nihongo2|B40判}} | "''Shinsho''" ("New Book") / "B40" || 40 || 80 || {{size|103|182}} | Half the size of ''Jūbako''. Folded from B-series standard sheets, yielding 16 more pages than JIS B6. <br />An informal, ''de facto'' standard, with some variation in finished sizes between publishers. |- ! {{nihongo2|小B6判}} | "Small JIS B6" || 32 || 64 || {{size|112|174}} | Some publishers' "''Shinsho''" dimensions are closer to this size. |- ! {{nihongo2|A6判}} | ISO A6 || 32 || 64 || {{size|105|148}} | Size used for ''Bunkobon'' (small-format paperbacks) |- ! {{nihongo2|三五判}} | ''San-Go'' ("3 × 5") || 40 || 80 || {{size|84|148}} | Name refers to approximate dimensions in ''sun''; <br />folded from A-series standard sheets, yielding 16 more pages than A6. |}

== Records == ===Largest book=== [[File:California Building, Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909 (AYP 416).jpeg|alt=An extremely large book rests on a table, with its front cover and a small portion of its pages flipped open to the left. A man facing away from the camera stands in front of the flipped part. On the wall above the book is a sign saying "LARGEST BOOK IN THE WORLD - VISITORS' REGISTER FOR CALIFORNIA BUILDING - Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition […]". On a table in the background and to the right of the large book is another table on which many small stacks of normal-sized books are visible.|thumb|The supposed largest book in the world, as of 1909. It was the visitors' register for the California Building at the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in Seattle. Some normal-sized books are on the table at right.]] According to the 2003 Guinness World Records, the largest book in the world was ''Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom'' by Michael Hawley. Its size is {{convert|5|x|7|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/16/largest.book.ap/ |title=Guinness: Scientist creates world's largest book |access-date=2007-06-07 |agency=Associated Press |date=2003-12-16 |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522003607/http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/16/largest.book.ap/ |archive-date=2007-05-22 }}</ref>

According to the 2007 Guinness World Records, the largest published book in the world was ''The Little Prince'' printed in Brazil in 2007. Its size is {{convert|2.01|x|3.08|m|ftin|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Largest book published|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-book-published/|website=Guinness World Records}}</ref>

According to the 2012 Guinness World Records, the largest book in the world was ''This the Prophet Mohamed'' made in Dubai, UAE. Its size is {{convert|5|x|8.06|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Largest book|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-book/|website=Guinness World Records}}</ref> Though larger than ''The Little Prince'', the two hold separate records, as ''This the Prophet Mohamed'' was not published.

===Smallest book=== The smallest book is ''Teeny Ted from Turnip Town'' measured {{cvt|0.07|x|0.10|mm|in}}. It is a micro-tablet book carved on a pure crystalline silicon page, measuring just 70 micrometres by 100 micrometres. It was etched using an ion beam at the Simon Fraser University, Canada.<ref>{{cite web |title=Smallest reproduction of a printed book |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/smallest-reproduction-of-a-printed-book/ |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref>

===Largest manuscript=== The largest surviving medieval manuscript is the ''Codex Gigas'' or 'Devil's Manuscript', with dimensions of {{cvt|920|×|500|mm|in}}.

==Notes== {{Reflist|group="note"}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name="McKerrow 1927">{{Cite book| author-first=Ronald Brunlees| author-last=McKerrow| author-link=Ronald Brunlees McKerrow| editor-first=David| editor-last=McKitterick| title=An Introduction to Bibliography for Literary Students| publisher=Clarendon Press| year=1927}}</ref> <ref name="Bowers 1949">{{Cite book| author-first=Fredson| author-last=Bowers| title=Principles of Bibliographical Description| publisher=Princeton University Press| location=Princeton| year=1949| edition=1st}}</ref> <ref name="Gaskell 1972">{{Cite book| author-first=Philip| author-last=Gaskell| author-link=Philip Gaskell| title=A New Introduction to Bibliography| publisher=Clarendon Press| edition=1st| year=1972}}</ref> <ref name="Roberts 1982 Book sizes">{{Cite dictionary |first1=Matt |last1=Roberts |first2=Don |last2=Etherington |dictionary=Bookbinding and the conservation of books: a dictionary of descriptive terminology |entry=Book sizes |entry-url=https://archive.org/details/bookbindingconse0000robe/page/34/mode/2up |isbn=9780844403663 |year=1982 |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref> <ref name="Wilson-Fletcher2001">{{Cite news |title=The importance of format and feel |last=Wilson-Fletcher |first=Honor |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 August 2001 |access-date=6 April 2019 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/aug/11/gettingpublished }}</ref>

}}

==Further reading== A number of imposition schemes for different formats may be found in: *{{Cite book| author-first=Leon| author-last=Voet| title=The Golden Compasses: a history and evaluation of the printing and publishing activities of the Officina Plantiniana at Antwerp (the history of the house of Plantin-Moretus)| volume=II: The management of a printing and publishing house in Renaissance and Baroque| chapter=Appendix 8: Impositions and folding schemes| chapter-url=http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/voet004gold01_01/voet004gold01_01_0053.htm| publisher=Abner Schram| location=New York| year=1972| others=Translated by Raymond H. Kaye| isbn=9780839000044| url=http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/voet004gold01_01/| access-date=2014-09-11}} *Gaskell (1972), pages 88–107

Additional tables and discussion of American book formats and sizes may be found in: *{{Cite book| author-first=Carl Nicolaus| author-last=Caspar| title=Caspar's directory of the American book, news and stationery trade| publisher=C. N. Caspar's Book Emporium| location=Milwaukee| year=1889| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3dBAQAAIAAJ| chapter=Book sizes (in "Part VI: Theory and practice of the book trade and kindred branches", "c. A vocabulary of terms and phrases in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Latin, etc., employed in literature, the graphic arts and the book, stationery and printing trades, etc.")| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3dBAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA1310| pages=1310–1312| via=Google Books}} *Roberts (1982), [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015011728865;view=1up;seq=45 available online] *{{Cite web| author=AbeBooks| title=Guide to book formats| date=3 June 2021| url=http://www.abebooks.com/books/RareBooks/collecting-guide/understanding-rare-books/guide-book-formats.shtml}} *{{Cite book| author-first=Stephen| author-last=Trussel| title=Books and book collecting| chapter=Book Sizes| chapter-url=http://www.trussel.com/books/booksize.htm}}

Category:Book design size Category:Printing