Rare and Antique Book Collecting Glossary
The terms used by book collectors are depicted in the photo gallery below which will hopefully assist anyone who is unfamiliar with the terms.
Book Sizes
In advertisements for rare and antique books you will often hear or see books referred to as Folio or quarto. These terms refer to the size of a book (the terms refer to the size of the sheet of paper used in the books production). Paper sizes vary considerably, and the finished size is affected by how the pages are trimmed, so sizes are averages.
A folio volume on average is approx 15 in (38 cm) in height, (commonly referred to as Fo) the largest sort of regular book.
A quarto volume on average is approx 9 in (23 cm) by 12 in (30 cm). A sheet folded in quarto (commonly referred to as 4to) is folded to make four leaves.
An octavo volume on average is approx 6 in (15 cm) by 9 in (23 cm). A sheet folded in octavo (commonly referred to as 8vo) is folded to make 8 leaves.
Duodecimo volume on average is approx 7.3 in (18 cm) by 5 in (13 cm). A sheet folded in Duodecimo (commonly referred to as 12mo) is folded to make 12 leaves.
A sextodecimo volume is about 4.5 in (11 cm) by 6.75 in (17 cm). A sheet folded in sextodecimo (commonly referred to as 16mo) is folded to make 16 leaves.
