es, the
descriptions of folio, where the sheets are folded into two; quarto (4to),
where the sheets are folded into four; eight sizes of octavo (8vo), from
fcap. to imperial, where the sheets are folded into eight; duodecimo
(12mo); and sextodecimo (16mo) will be found sufficient. Speaking
generally, a 4to will have a page signature at the foot of every fourth
page, an 8vo at the foot of every eighth page, a 12mo at the foot of every
fourth or twelfth page, etc. The old standard for octave sizes (measured
on the edge of the pages, not the boards), which may safely be followed,
is given in the table below. The sizes will be found to vary somewhat,
where the book has been trimmed or where the paper used has been of an odd
size.

Table of Octavo sheets, folded:

4-1/4" x 7" fcap 8vo
5" x 7-1/2" crown 8vo
5-1/2" x 7-1/2" post 8vo
5-1/2" x 8" demy 8vo
6" x 9-1/2" 8vo
6-1/2" x 10" roy 8vo
8-1/4" x 11-1/2" imp 8vo

CHAPTER VII

_BOOK BUYING_

[Illustration: KELMSCOTT PRESS BOOK]

As by far the greater portion of rare and desirable books to be had in
America from time to time are sent over from England and the Continent by
dealers' agents, it follows that the amateur collector in this country
must depend largely on dealers for his supply of books. Except at
auctions, there are comparatively few opportunities of buying at
first-hand, although rare items of American printed books are sometimes
unearthed and, in the old book stores of the larger cities, bargains are
not uncommon. These latter, however, are usually limited, at best, to
picking up some good first edition of a modern author, worth, perhaps,
five dollars, and carelessly marked, with numbers of other books, at about
twenty-five cents. Better fortune sometimes attends. For example, one may
sometimes find a really rare and valuable book which, in dim but
inadequate realization of its value, has been marked higher than its
neighbors--perhaps up to about one-tenth of its real value. Such an
incident, however, is among the exceptions. In any case, the stories of
wonderful finds in years past, along the quays of Paris or in the stalls
of London are, for the American at least, almost like romances which could
never come true.

In buying from dealers, especially those who specialize in rare books, it
is often, unfortunately, necessary that the bibliophile of moderate means,
to whom these pa