Printing quartos in Shakespeare’s time
For many early modern authors and printers, a sheet of paper was both a unit of production and a conceptual limit. Now, we often use page length or even word count as a way to describe the limits of a written text. For early moderns, the sheet was the equivalent measure—even though multiple pages might be printed on one sheet of paper. For instance, an author might say he or she had written ‘one sheet’ on a particular subject. Or a printer would calculate the cost of a job by the number of sheets of paper needed.
Practice Making a Quarto in the Virtual Printing House
How the second quarto of Hamlet was printed | Download the Q2 of Hamlet | Learn More
Quarto sample sheet with page numbers_Page_1.jpg

Page Layout for Q2 Hamlet
How the second quarto of Hamlet was printed
Quarto sample sheet with page numbers_Page_2.jpg

Page Layout for Q2 Hamlet
Download Q2 of Hamlet
Download a practice early modern folding sheet with explanations of formats and bibliographical terms
Download a sample sheet with the layout of page numbers overlaying a quarto format
Download Q2 Hamletwith its own instructional guide
These PDFs are sized for standard 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. The size of a sheet of early modern paper varied, but as a point of reference, the University of Iowa's Center for the Book sizes its handmade paper at 12 x 18. So, at 8 ½ x 11, you will be working at a reduction of approximately 50%.
The PDFs are designed to be printed double sided, with ‘flip on short side’ selected. You will want to experiment with your own printer's requirements for double-sided printing for best results. If you want to experiment with something closer to the original size, you might play with “fit to size” printer options on 11 x 14 inch paper.
>> Learn more about early modern printing at DIY First Folio
Learn more about the second quarto edition of Hamlet and the printing of playbooks
Kastan, David Scott. Shakespeare and the Book. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Pratt, Aaron T., “Stab-Stitching and the status of early English playbooks as literature,” The Library, 7th series, vol. 16 (Sept. 2015), 304-28.
Shakespeare Quartos Archive, NEH
Werstine, Paul. “The Textual Mystery of Hamlet.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 1, 1988, pp. 1–26.
Chancery Papermaking at the University of Iowa's Center for the Book (video)
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