Types of books, book binding and book sizes

Fiction or non-fiction, books come is many sizes, shapes, bindings and files. Some I've known, some I've read and some I haven't heard the name of even though I've sold them so I thought I'd lay them out for you. It is interesting to see which styles have disappeared over humanity's writing history.

The Tablet

Tablets were what we originally wrote on when it wasn't on walls or in caves. Stone, mud and clay were often used though stone is the most durable and that's why grave stones are by-and-large made of stone and concrete rather than wood or clay. Tablets are still in use but only rarely outside of the burial industry.

Scroll

This is a declaration scroll so it is a touch fancier than most old scrolls. Scrolls were first used after the invention of papyrus: a thick paper-like material made from the woven stems of the papyrus plant. A scroll was a sheet of papyrus or later paper curled in on itself, either from one side or both, with or without rollers. The papyrus or paper was rolled for portability and storage. Once widely used they are now mainly used in traditional practices like religious ceremonies, royal weddings etc. or in plays, for extra-classy invitations or for architectural designs (rarely rolled nowadays but still down).

Codex

Many books in one. Or, many scrolls (single books) bound together. The leaves are all of uniform size and are bound along one edge. The codex is the early beginnings of what we now generally call a book. It gained widespread popularity in the early Christian communities, possibly for cultural identification purposes, as most other types of communities still preferred scrolls.

Manuscript

When parchment became more popular than papyrus do to availability problems (political not environmental or agricultural) manuscripts were created. Almost all books were manuscripts copied by hand, making them expensive and comparatively rare. They were most commonly found in monasteries, papal libraries or in the property of royalty. If varied spelling and stylised writing isn't hard enough to read, spaces between words weren't commonly used before the 12th century. Vellum could be used instead of parchment. Only in Judaism is scribing manuscripts still widely done. According to custom, the Torah scroll can only be reproduced by hand. Manuscripts are otherwise extremely rare these days due to the labour involved and the high level of skill required.

Quarto

In printing and binding, the paper is folded twice, forming four leaves or eight pages approximately 11-13 inches (ca 30 cm) tall.

Octavo

The most common size for hardcover books printed today. The paper is folded three times into eight leaves or 16 pages up to 9 ¾" (ca 23 cm) tall. This is the type of book most authors hope to be printed in one day and when they do they'd like a first edition copy and a new ambition.

DuoDecimo

DuoDecimo is a size that falls between Octavo and Sextodecimo. It stands up to 7 ¾" (ca 18 cm) tall.

Sextodecimo

The paper is folded four times to form 16 leaves or 32 pages. It stands up to 6 ¾" (ca 15 cm) tall.

Folio

Stands up to 15" (ca 38 cm) tall. Commonly used in the printing of early plays.

Elephant Folio

Stands up to 23" (ca 58 cm) tall. Best used in photography or art books.

Atlas Folio

Stands up to 25" (ca 63 cm) tall. Large and perfect for detailed illustrations but not so good for portability. Best used in reference material.

Double Elephant Folio

Stands up to 50" (ca 127 cm) tall. Ridiculously large but great for detailed illustrations like this. As with the Atlas Folio this type of book is best used for reference material.

Codex Gigas

This is the Codex Gigas and it is 92 × 50 × 22 cm. It is the largest extant medieval manuscript in the world.

Booklet

Anything between 3 (ca 8 cm) tall - 5 ¾" (ca 13 cm) tall can be called a booklet. Often include  less than 50 pages and are used mostly in business or ceremonies.

eBook

The book is a digital file that can be transferred or carried on various readers, digital storage devices and computers.

Words first put to manuscript by Chaucer

From: harvardsententiae.org

There are roughly 2000 words found in Chaucer's manuscripts that aren't found in manuscripts printed previously. This doesn't mean he invented the words or that alternate versions of these words weren't in common speech of use in manuscripts. But these words are written and used they are today. Considering Chaucer wrote in Middle English, this is pretty interesting.

These words include (I've highlighted my favourites): 

Absent, Acceptable, Accident, Add, Agree, Alan, Alight, Amble, Amble, Ambler, Annex, Approver, Arc, Army, Arrayed, Arrive, Ascendant, Award, Bagpipe, Bedstraw, Begged, Bet, Bodkin, Bolt, Borax, Border, Bourdon, Box, Bracer, Bragget, Bream, Breastplate, Bribe, Bribery, Buckle, Bum, Bumble, Cape, Caterwaul, Ceruse, Chant, Chime, Chose, Cinnamon, Circe, Citrine, Clasp, Clink, Collared, Collect, Considering, Constabless, Constant, Convertible, Cordial, Corny, Corpus, Court-man, Crone, Dagger, Debtless, Declination, Definitive, Demoniac, Demonstrative, Desk, Determinate, Digestible, Digestion, Dilatation, Disfigure, Dishonest, Dives, Domination, Dormant, Easement, Ecclesiast, Envelop, Equally, Equation, Erect, Exaltation, Examination, Execute, Expanse, Expel, Expulsive, Falconer, Faring, Fart, Femininity, Finally, Flattering, Flute, Fluttery, Foal, Foot-mantle, Forge, Foster, Frowning, Funeral, Galaxy, Gaud, Gaze, Halfway, Harry, Haunch-bone, Hippocras, Hodge, Horizon, Hostelry, Householder, Howl, Huntress, In, Inclination, Infect, Ingot, Intellect, Interrogation, Jingle, Kneading, Kneading-trough, Knob, Lab, Lacing, Latitude, Laureate, Laxative, Licentiate, Line, Luce, Lucina, Lure, Magic, Magician, Man of law, Marquisess, Marrowbone, Martian, Melancholic, Menacing, Mercenary, Miscarry, Mishap, Mislie, Moral, Mortal, Mortally, Motive, Mover, Murmur, Murmuring, Muzzle, Muse, Narcotic, Nod, Notable, Nowell, Nymph, Obscure, Observe, Obstacle, Opie, Opposite, Opposition, Ordinate, Out, Outcry, Outrageous, Pardoner, Party, Patent, Peace, Pearl, Pilate, Pegasus, Peregrine, Perpendicular, Persian, Perturb, Pharmacy, Piercing, Piping, Plain, Plumage, Policy, Popper, Poppet, Porteous, Portraiture, Possibility, Preamble, Preambulation, Resemblance, Preen, Prenticehood, Princess, Procreation, Progression, Refuge, Proportional, Prospection, Prospective, Quack, Renting, Resolve, Resound, Returning, Reveller, Reverberation, Rigour, Rioter, Rumour, Sack, Saffron, Sane, Save, Saving, Scissors, Score, Seriously, Serve, Session, Sheffield, Shelf, Shouting, Sip, Slumber, Smiler, Snort, Sold, Sole, Spaniel, Spence, Squire, Stew, Strangle, Strangling, Struggle, Superlative, Stubborn, Superstitious, Swarm, Swive, Tartar, Tester, Theatre, Thick and thin, Thoroughfare, Tip, Trench, Trill, Trip, Tub, Turret, Universe, Utility, Vacation, Valentine, Vanishing, Variation, Varnish, Veal, Very, Vicar general, Victorious, Village, Visage, Vital, Vomit, Vulgar, Wallet, Whippletree, Whistling, Wildness, Winged, Wrack.

If you want to get a proper understanding of why these words are so significant, here is a section of The Cook's Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?-1400), as written: 

THE COOK'S PROLOGUE

The cook of londoun, whil the reve spak,
For joye him thoughte he clawed him on the bak.
Ha! ha! quod he, for cristes passion,
This millere hadde a sharp conclusion
Upon his argument of herbergage!
Wel seyde salomon in his langage,
-- Ne bryng nat every man into thyn hous; --
For herberwynge by nyghte is perilous.
Wel oghte a man avysed for to be
Whom that he broghte into his pryvetee.
I pray to god, so yeve me sorwe and care
If evere, sitthe I highte hogge of ware,
Herde I a millere bettre yset a-werk.
He hadde a jape of malice in the derk.
But God forbede that we stynte heere;
And therfore, if ye vouche-sauf to heere
A tale of me, that am a povre man,
I wol yow telle, as wel as evere I kan,
A litel jape that fil in oure citee.
Oure hoost answerde and seide, I graunte it thee.
Now telle on, roger, looke that it be good;
For many a pastee hastow laten blood,
And many a jakke of dovere hastow soold
That hath been twies hoot and twies coold.
Of many a pilgrym hastow cristes curs,
For of thy percely yet they fare the wors,
That they han eten with thy stubbel goos;
For in thy shoppe is many a flye loos.
Now telle on, gentil roger by thy name.
But yet I pray thee, be nat wroth for game;
A man may seye ful sooth in game and pley.
Thou seist ful sooth, quod roger, by my fey!
But -- sooth pley, quaad pley, -- as the flemyng seith.
And therfore, herry bailly, by thy feith,
Be thou nat wrooth, er we departen heer,
Though that my tale be of an hostileer.
But nathelees I wol nat telle it yit;
But er we parte, ywis, thou shalt be quit.
And therwithal he lough and made cheere,
And seyde his tale, as ye shul after heere.

 THE COOK'S TALE 

A prentys whilom dwelled in oure citee,
And of a craft of vitailliers was hee.
Gaillard he was as goldfynch in the shawe,
Broun as a berye, a propre short felawe,
With lokkes blake, ykembd ful fetisly.
Dauncen he koude so wel and jolily
That he was cleped perkyn revelour.
He was as ful of love and paramour
As is the hyve ful of hony sweete:
Wel was the wenche with hym myghte meete.
At every bridale wolde he synge and hoppe;
He loved bet the taverne than the shoppe.
For whan ther any ridyng was in chepe,
Out of the shoppe thider wolde he lepe --
Til that he hadde al the sighte yseyn,
And daunced wel, he wolde nat come ayeyn --
And gadered hym a meynee of his sort
To hoppe and synge and maken swich disport;
And ther they setten stevene for to meete,
To pleyen at the dys in swich a streete.
For in the toune nas ther no prentys
That fairer koude caste a paire of dys
Than perkyn koude, and therto he was free
Of his dispense, in place of pryvetee.
That fond his maister wel in his chaffare;
For often tyme he foond his box ful bare.
For sikerly a prentys revelour
That haunteth dys, riot, or paramour.
His maister shal it in his shoppe abye,
Al have he no part of the mynstralcye.
For thefte and riot, they been convertible,
Al konne he pleye on gyterne or ribible.
Revel and trouthe, as in a lowe degree,
They been ful wrothe al day, as men may see.
this joly prentys with his maister bood,
Til he were ny out of his prentishood,
Al were he snybbed bothe erly and late,
And somtyme lad with revel to newegate.
But atte laste his maister him bithoghte.
Upon a day, whan he his papir soghte,
Of a proverbe that seith this same word,
Wel bet is roten appul out of hoord
Than that it rotie al the remenaunt.
So fareth it by a riotous servaunt;
It is ful lasse harm to lete hym pace,
Than he shende alle the servantz in the place.
Therfore his maister yaf hym acquitance,
And bad hym go, with sorwe and with meschance!
And thus this joly prentys hadde his leve.
Now lat hym riote al the nyght or leve.
And for ther is no theef withoute a lowke,
That help eth hym to wasten and to sowke
Of that he brybe kan or borwe may,
Anon he sente his bed and his array
Unto a compeer of his owene sort,
That lovede dys, and revel, and disport,
And hadde a wyf that heeld for contenance
A shoppe, and swyved for hir sustenance.

It is well worth struggling to read Middle English when it comes to Chaucer's works. He was one cheeky writer and his works are filled with the crude, rude and immoral. Good for a laugh anytime.