The penman will find that, besides saving time and labour, it conduces to good work if he keep to certain regular sizes for “large,” “medium,” and “small” books; and, if the ordinary sheets of paper which he uses will fold in convenient folio, quarto, and octavo sizes, it is well that he make these his standards for paper books.
Paper being made in sheets of various dimensions, by folding a large or a small sheet, a “large” or “small” folio—4to, 8vo—can be obtained.
It may be noted that the length and the width of sheets of paper[19] are very commonly about as 9 is to 7. And therefore, when the sheet is folded for folio or octavo, the proportions are roughly about 7: 412, which are very good proportions for a page of a book. It is obvious that a narrow (“upright”) book is easier to handle and more pleasant in appearance (when open) than an album or “oblong” shape of book (b and c, fig. [70]).
THE WIDTHS OF THE MARGINS
Margins are necessary in order to isolate and frame a text: thus they contribute to its legibility and beauty. It is better that they be wide rather than narrow (see p. [106], & Note, p. [265]); but excessively wide margins are often neither convenient nor pleasing (see p. [222]).
The “page” or column of text should be in such proportion to the page of the book, and be placed on it in such a way as to leave adequate [p104] margins on every side. A narrow column of text is generally best, for short lines are easiest to write and to read, and do not tire the hand, or the eye, in passing from one line to the next. For this reason the text is often divided into two or more columns when the page is wide, or the writing is very small in comparison.
The exact proportion of margin to text in a given page depends on circumstances, and is largely a matter of taste (ex. fig. [71] & note 2, b, p. [256]). But just as it is advantageous generally to keep to certain [p106] sizes of pages, it is well to keep to certain—corresponding—sizes of margins for regular use.