The Anatomy of a Book: Format in the Hand-Press Period

Description During the hand-press period, printers and publishers thought of their books in terms of the size and number of whole sheets of paper needed to produce them. An immediate concern in planning an edition was to establish its format, the way in which its sheets of paper would be folded into gatherings so that they could be sewn together and bound in an efficient and convenient manner. Authors, publishers, printers, and retail booksellers alike were conversant with the advantages and traditions associated with the various standard formats used during the hand-press period. A knowledge of and familiarity with these formats is thus an indispensable part of the scholarly equipment of students of book history—bibliographers, historians, textual editors, research librarians, antiquarian booksellers, book collectors, and others.

AudiencesGraduates, Undergraduates

Access TermsRare books--Expertising, Rare books, Printing presses, Wood types (Printing), Early modern, 1500-1700