octavos
Smaller than quartos
Octavos is the plural of octavo, a book size created by folding printed sheets three times to produce eight leaves (sixteen pages).
The term comes from the Latin for "in an eighth." Octavo produces a medium-sized book, smaller than quarto but larger than duodecimo: The library's collection included several rare octavos from the sixteenth century.
Four-leaf printing format
- folioSingle-fold page format
- duodecimoBook format, twelve leaves
- signaturesHandwritten names as authentication
- gatheringsOccasions of congregating
leaves · pages · binding · codex · pamphlet · chapbook · incunabula · letterpress
Flat expanses of material
- foldingBending something over itself
- impositionUnfair demand on someone
- pressApply force downward
- typographyArranging letters for display
type · letterpress · compositor · chase · signatures · pagination · presswork · handpress
Scholar of old artifacts
- collectibleObject worth amassing
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- bibliophileLover of books
- auctionCompetitive public sale
Sotheby's · marginalia · foxing · morocco · gilt · tooling · slipcase · ephemera
quarto
Four-leaf printing format
- folioSingle-fold page format
- duodecimoBook format, twelve leaves
- signaturesHandwritten names as authentication
gatherings · leaves · pages · binding · codex · pamphlet · chapbook · incunabula · letterpress · printing
sheets
Flat expanses of material
- foldingBending something over itself
- impositionUnfair demand on someone
- pressApply force downward
typography · type · letterpress · compositor · chase · signatures · pagination · presswork · handpress · movable
antiquarian
Scholar of old artifacts
- collectibleObject worth amassing
- provenanceRecord of ownership
- bibliophileLover of books
auction · Sotheby's · marginalia · foxing · morocco · gilt · tooling · slipcase · ephemera · inscribed
octavosfolios
Numbered manuscript pages
folio · broadsheets · quartos · atlases · pocket editions