Foolscap folio: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Paper size historically common in some parts of Europe, and former British territories}}

[[File:FolioA4.svg|thumb|A comparison of the A4 and Foolscap folio papersize]]

'''Foolscap folio''', (commonly contracted to '''foolscap''' or '''cap''' or '''folio''' and in short '''FC'''), is [[paper]] cut to the size of {{cvt|8+1/2|xx|.5 × 13+1/2|.5 in|sigfig=3}} (216 × 343 mm) for printing or to {{cvt|8|xx| × 13| in|sigfig=3}} (203 × 330 mm) for "normal" writing paper (foolscap).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.papersizes.io/|title=Paper Sizes|website=www.papersizes.io}}</ref> This was a traditional [[paper size]] used in some parts of Europe, and the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]], before the adoption of the international standard [[ISO 216#A series|A4 paper]].

'''Foolscap folio''' (commonly contracted to '''foolscap''' or '''cap''' or '''folio''' and in short '''FC''') is [[paper]] cut to the size of {{cvt|8+1/2|xx|13+1/2|in|sigfig=3}} for printing or to {{cvt|8|xx|13|in|sigfig=3}} for "normal" writing paper (foolscap).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.papersizes.io/|title=Paper Sizes|website=www.papersizes.io}}</ref> This was a traditional [[paper size]] used in some parts of Europe, and the [[British Commonwealth]], before the adoption of the international standard [[A4 paper]].

==Size==

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==History==

Historically, there were two prevalent Foolscapfoolscap folio paper sizes: British Foolscapfoolscap and Imperialimperial Foolscapfoolscap. The British Foolscapfoolscap measured approximately 8.0 by 13.0 inches (203 mm by 330 mm) and was widely used in the United Kingdom for official documents and administrative records. On the other hand, the Imperialimperial Foolscapfoolscap was slightly larger, measuring around 8.5 by 13.5 inches (216 mm by 343 mm). This larger format was preferred in some regions of the British Empire for similar purposes. Both paper sizes represented an era when handwritten records and official documentation were prevalent, but they have since faded into history, replaced by contemporary paper standards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Imperial Foolscap Paper Size |url=https://papersdb.com/imperial/foolscap |access-date= |website=papersdb.com |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=British Foolscap Paper Size |url=https://papersdb.com/traditional-british/foolscap |access-date= |website=papersdb.com |language=}}</ref>

===Europe===

[[File:Fool's Cap Marks 120 & 121 cropped from Heawood 1924 Watermarks 113-156.jpg|thumb|Two versions of the Fool's Cap watermark from 17th-century England<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heawood |first1=Edward |author-link=Edward Heawood | title=The Use of Watermarks in Dating Old Maps and Documents |journal=The Geographical Journal |date=1924 |volume=63 |issue=5 |pages=391-410 |url=https://archive.org/details/heawood-1924-watermarks |jstor=1781227}}</ref>]]Foolscap was named after the [[Court jester|fool]]'s [[cap and bells]] [[watermark]] commonly used from the 15th century onwards on paper of these dimensions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Müller |first=Lothar |title=White Magic: The Age of Paper |place=Cambridge|publisher=Polity Press |date=2014|page=173}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/foolscap|title=Foolscap|last=Anon|work=The Free Dictionary|publisher=Farlex |accessdate=17 September 2009}}</ref> The earliest example of such paper was made in Germany in 1479. Unsubstantiated anecdotes suggest that this watermark was introduced to England in 1580 by [[John Spilman]], a German who established a papermill at [[Dartford (borough)|Dartford]], Kent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/gallery/|title=Entry in the Dartford Holy Trinity parish register for Sir John Spielman (Spillman), 8 November 1626 |work=Medway: City Ark Document Gallery|publisher=Medway Council|accessdate=17 September 2009}}</ref>

The general pattern of the mark was used by Dutch and English papermakers in the late 17th and 18th centuries, and as early as 1674 the term "foolscap" was being used to designate a specific size of paper regardless of its watermark.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ashbee |first1=Andrew |last2=Thompson |first2=Robert |last3=Wainwright |first3=Jonathan |chapter=Appendix I: 08-Watermarks and Paper Types |publisher=The Viola da Gamba Society |page=279 [29] |chapter-url=https://vdgs.org.uk/indexmss/08%20Watermarks.pdf |title=Index of Manuscripts containing Consort Music |volume=1 |url=https://vdgs.org.uk/indexmss/ |accessdate=13 July 2021}} Shows several types of foolscap watermark.</ref>

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|year=1901

|page=195

|url=https://archive.org/details/lifereminiscence00john/page/195/mode/1up}}</ref> According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins'', there is no basis in fact for this statement.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cresswell |first=Julia |title=fool |date=2021-07-22 |work=Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198868750.001.0001/acref-9780198868750-e-2108?rskey=J4p3HH&result=2161 |access-date=2024-02-08 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi= |isbn=978-0-19-886875-0}}</ref>{{efn|[[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was executed on 30 January 1649, which would have been the cause of this supposed change. There were only around 40 mills making hand-made paper in England between 1601 and 1650, with 23 of them within 30 miles of London.<ref name="Hills" >{{cite book

{{cite book

|last=Cresswell

|first=Julia

|title=Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins

|edition=3rd

|publisher=Oxford University Press

|date=2021

|isbn=9780192639370

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3HA3EAAAQBAJ&dq=watermark+royal+arms&pg=PT502}}</ref>{{pn|date=July 2021}}{{efn|[[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was executed on 30 January 1649, which would have been the cause of this supposed change. There were only around 40 mills making hand-made paper in England between 1601 and 1650, with 23 of them within 30 miles of London.<ref name="Hills" >{{cite book

|last=Hills

|first=Richard Leslie

|authorlink=Richard L. Hills

|title=Papermaking in Britain 1488-1988: A Short History

|series=History: Bloomsbury Academic Collections

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There were numerous other sizes with variations on the "cap" name:<ref name="Monachesi" />

* Flat Capcap (i.e. unfolded). {{convert|14|×|17|in|sigfig=3}}

* Small Flat Capcap (or Lawlaw Blankblank Capcap, Corporationcorporation Capcap or Legallegal Capcap). {{convert|13|×|16|in|sigfig=3}}

* Exchange Capcap – thin, highly [[calender]]ed, hard and strong paper used for bills of exchange, certificates and other blanks where light weight and ability to receive hard usages was required.

* Drawing Cap,cap – cold-pressed, for making drawing books and printing imitation antique work.

* Double Capcap Writing,writing – for both writing and ledger papers. {{convert|17|×|28|in|sigfig=3}}

* Double Foolscapfoolscap. {{convert|26+1/2|×|16+3/4|in|sigfig=3}}

==F4==

{{see also|Paper size#F4}}

'''F4''' <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paper-size.com/size/f4-transitional-sizes.html|title=F4 Size in CM - Transitional Paper Sizes|website=paper-size.com}}</ref> is a paper size {{cvt|210|x|330|mm|sigfig=3}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.prographic.com/Paper_sizes/body_paper_sizes.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040704181010/http://www.prographic.com/Paper_sizes/body_paper_sizes.html|url-status=dead|title=Prographic paper sizes|archivedate=July 4, 2004}}</ref> Although metric, based on the A4 paper size (210 mm × 297 mm), and named to suggest that it is part of the official [[ISO 216]] paper sizes, it is only a ''de facto'' standard.

It is often referred to as (metric) "foolscap" or "folio" because of its similarity to the traditional foolscap folio size of {{cvt|8+1/2|x|13+1/2|in|sigfig=3}}.