Common paper size dimensions.

[jerryeberg]

Hello,
What is the common paper size(s) for the 1860's? You know how ours is 8.5 x 11, what was theirs? Thanks a lot.

[Pvt Schnapps]

The short answer seems to be that you would generally encounter three categories of sizes -- note, letter, and "cap" or foolscap. The United States was one of the leading paper manufacturers in the world, but mid-19th century sizes were not totally standardized so it's probably best to think in terms of ranges.

Note paper is generally half letter size (a full sheet cut octavo), typically 5" by 8".

Letter size is generally a full sheet cut quarto, typically 8" by 10" or -- just as common as far as I can tell -- 7 3/4" by 9 3/4".

A sheet of Cap paper is generally the same width as letter, but longer -- the 19th century equivalent of legal. It's not unusual to see something like 7 by 12" up to 8 by 14".

That said, several contemporary references assume an ideal letter size of 8 by 10.5 (the size of official government stationery until the early 1980s), with foolscap being 14" long. For example:


o August V. Kautz’s The Company Clerk (p. 125, para. 259): “When possible, all letters of transmittal and other papers should be folded the size of ordinary letter-paper folded in three folds. The dimensions are three and a half inches wide and eight inches long.”

o Scott’s Military Dictionary (p. 90, under “Books”) states that “Letter paper will be folded in three equal folds – Cap paper in four.” We find the same instruction in the 1862 Officer’s Pocket Companion.

o Further reinforcement comes from the 1861 Army Regulations (Article XXXIV, no. 456), which directs that “Letters on letter paper will be folded in three folds parallel with the writing,” and the Ordnance Department’s 1863 Instructions for Making Returns of Ordnance Stores (p. 32) “Fold all invoices, receipts, statements, lists, and certificates to be used as vouchers, 3 ½ inches wide, in the direction of the ruled lines.”

o A final clue as to size comes from the “pigeon holes” found in period desks. These seem universally four inches wide, ideal for papers folded three and a half inches wide.

With all that, I think the evidence seems to show that paper was sold or issued in full sheet sizes (e.g., 20" by 32" for letter), the sheets being folded over at least once. That means that the five "quires" issued quarterly to companies per the Regulations would represent not 120 (5 times 24) individual sheets of writing paper, but 120 full size sheets that would be further cut down, to up to 480 sheets (a ream) of letter-size paper.

I could elaborate, but that's probably another message. :) For serious civil war clerking, a paper-cutter is your best friend.

Full size sheets also appear to have been used for many of the forms. Muster rolls were notoriously large full-sized sheets, many morning reports appear on very wide sheets, and inventory and inspection forms appear to use full-size, uncut sheets of writing paper.

Hope this helps.

[vmescher]

Hello,
What is the common paper size(s) for the 1860's? You know how ours is 8.5 x 11, what was theirs? Thanks a lot.

The sizes of paper and terms that I have found in period sources were:

Commercial cuts of paper

Pot - 12 ½ x 15 inches
Cap or small cap, writing - 13 x 16 inches
Double cap, writing - 17 x 28 inches
Flat cap, writing - 14 x 17 inches
Fools cap, writing - 12 ½ x 16 inches
Double foolscap - 27 x 17 inches
Post - 18 3/4 x 15 1/4 inches
Folio post, writing - 17 x 22 inches (came in blue and white)
Ledger paper (not ledger books) - 7 x 14 inches
Imperial - 27 x 21 1/4 inches
Super Royal - 27 x 19 inches
Royal - 24 x 19 inches
Demy - 19 x 15 ½ inches
* I found reference to many more terms and sizes of commercial paper, but
these seemed to be the most common.

The period sizes differ from modern paper sizes and a comparison chart is shown at the end of the post.

As for letter and note paper, they were prepared from the above commercial
sizes by the stationers in various sizes and packaged.

The terms foolscap, cap hand, post, pot, and Imperial papers originally
denoted particular types of watermarks, but eventually came to note the
size of the paper.

There were 3 classes of paper; writing/drawing, printing and wrapping.
There were 5 subclasses of writing/drawing paper; cream wove, yellow wove,
blue wove, cream laid, and blue laid. Included in writing paper was
drawing paper and drawing paper was cream wove and writing paper was laid.
There were 2 subclasses of printing paper; laid and wove. There were 4
subclasses fo wrapping paper; blue, purple, brown and whited brown.

Laid paper were named for the dim narrow lines water-marked on the paper.
Plain wove paper had no water mark on the paper.

A quire of paper was 24 sheets and a ream of paper consisted of twenty
quires.

All the information above came from:

_****'s Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes_ by William ****
(1858)
_A Supplement to Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines_ by
Robert Hunt (1864)
_Cole's Dictionary of Dry Goods_ by George S. Cole (1892)

It seems as if modern terminology for paper sizes differs from the period
terms.
Modern paper sizes and terms:
Foolscap - 13 ½ x 17 inches
Double foolscap - 17 x 27 inches
Folio - 13 ½ x 8 ½ inches (foolscap paper folded in half)
Quarto 6 3/4 x 8 ½ inches (foolscap paper folded to make four leaves)
Octavo 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches (foolscap paper fooled to make eight leaves)
Large post - 16 1/5 x 21 inches
Demy - 17 ½ x 22 ½ inches
Royal - 20 x 25 inches

I hope this helps.

[Pvt Schnapps]

You can also take a look at documents online. A number of sites that sell memorabilia provide pictures and dimensions of a variety of documents, e.g. http://pages.warbetweenthestates.com/517/InventoryPage/958438/1.html