As to sizes, folios run from the great Atlas of Charles II., measuring five feet nine inches and a half by three feet two inches and a half, and requiring eight skins of morocco for its binding, to the tiny Galileo a Madame Cristina de Lorena, 1615, “imprimé en 1897,” measuring one half by one quarter of an inch. A folio cannot be recognised by its shape.
The sizes of quartos and octavos are also very varied, but, roughly speaking, they can be recognised by their shapes, especially in the case of modern books. A quarto is generally squarish in outline, nearly as broad as it is long; an octavo is an elongated rectangle, its breadth considerably less than its length. A duodecimo is always much longer than its breadth.
As curiosities, books have been made in many forms, circular, heart-shaped, octagonal, flower or animal forms, but they are of small importance, and have been chiefly made as Christmas cards, valentines, and such ephemeral publications.
The rules as to quiring of books printed on paper do not apply to books printed on vellum. Such books are always folios, and they are generally quired in gatherings of ten leaves, following the fashion used in the ancient manuscripts, but, of course, they can equally well be gathered together in any even number that may be preferred. There is no rule.
In Europe, until the nineteenth century, paper was always made from triturated rags, but the demand for cheap literature which has become so urgent in recent years has compelled paper manufacturers to find some commoner material from which to make their paper.
It is possible that the way out of the difficulty was suggested by an analysis of Japanese paper. This has been known here for some time. It is strong, soft, and valuable for many reasons, and is cheaply made of fibres from plants of the mulberry tree species. Japanese paper is hand made and has a certain amount of dressing, its surface is dull, but takes impressions from engraved plates or type easily. It appears to last fairly well, but would probably not stand much wear at the joints.
The idea of using pulped vegetable matter for paper was, however, not new, even to the Japanese, as there was such a thing as paper made from papyrus, but it does not seem to have been much employed, because it was not necessary in view of the fact that the papyrus did quite well by itself without any further manipulation.
For reliable papers, the Committee on the Deterioration of Paper appointed by the Society of Arts in 1898 give in their report a statement that 70 per cent. should consist of fibres of cotton, flax, or hemp, but about the middle of the nineteenth century it was found that passable paper could be very cheaply made from straw and from esparto grass, and this paved the way for the disastrous use of mechanical wood pulp for cheap newspapers and books.
Many sorts of wood pulps are now made for this purpose, and there is no doubt that the industry of breaking up wood for the purpose of paper making is a large and increasing one. In Norway there are several large establishments already working at this output. The fibres of spruce, pine, birch, poplar, jute, and manilla are all extensively used. The wood is cut up into small pieces and triturated until it is in a state of fine dissemination, a mass of small fibres, in which condition it is mixed in certain proportions with the other materials of which the paper is to be composed. In spite of the warnings of the Society of Arts Committee, there is no doubt that the use of “mechanical” wood pulp for paper is increasing, and this regardless of the fact that there is no lasting quality in such material, for the fibres of the wood are invariably brittle, and they also darken rapidly under the influence of light.
The dressing of such papers with resin or gelatine effects a certain improvement; gelatine particularly adds to the life of a paper and increases the elasticity of the wood fibres, but this good effect tends to die out in time. Resin is of less use.