Early in the history of bookmaking the printed book was distinguished
in size by the number of times the original large sheet of paper
on which the type was printed had been folded, i.e., folio, quarto,
octavo, and duodecimo. With the advent of machine-made paper,
these sizes were standardized. The standard octavo, according
to the American Library Association, is between 20 cm and 25 cm
in height.
Books apparently did not come into existence until long after
writing, e.g., inscription , was widespread. Fragmentary early
papyri represent literature in ancient Egypt and may possibly
be considered as books, although it is customary to speak of the
Book of the Dead as the first of the Egyptian papyrus books. The
cuneiform tablets gathered into the great Assyrian library of
Assurbanipal represented an enormous collection of works, but
the book as we know it may be said to be derived from the Egyptian
writings on papyrus.
The vast literature of the Greeks, collected in the greatest library
of the ancient world, in Alexandria, was generally written on
large sheets of papyrus, which were glued together and rolled
up. The rolls varied greatly in size; many were about 1 ft (30
cm) wide and about 30 ft (9 m) long when unrolled. In the Hellenistic
era large works were divided into tomes [Gr.,=cutting] that were
stored together in cylinders and labeled. |
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