Quarto (text)

A quarto (also 4to or 4º) is a term in printing, referring to a size of book common in the early modern era. Quarto texts were printed on the two sides of large paper sheets, measuring 9" (23 cm) by 12" (30 cm), roughly the size of most modern magazines. Four pages were printed on each side and the paper was then folded twice and bound, giving eight printed pages. The resulting book was approximately the size of today's A5 standard paper (210 x 148mm or 8.3 x 5.8"), or about the size of a modern paperback. They are also called "eight-page signatures".

Popular works were published in multiple editions over time, then as now. The first quarto edition (Q1) of Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part 1," the most popular play of the era, was published in 1598, the second quarto (Q2) was issued in 1599, and subsequent quartos appeared in 1604, 1608, 1613, 1622, 1632, and 1639. The first quarto edition of Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" was published in 1604, the second quarto in 1609. The first quarto of Marlowe's narrative poem "Hero and Leander" was issued in 1598; a second quarto, containing Marlowe's original plus George Chapman's continuation of the poem, was published later in the same year. Q1 of Shakespeare's "Venus and Adonis" was printed in 1593, Q2 in 1594.

References

* Chambers, E. K. "The Elizabethan Stage." 4 Volumes, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923.
* Halliday, F. E. "A Shakespeare Companion 1564–1964." Baltimore, Penguin, 1964.