Re: Voynich MS not(?) in Rudolf's Kunstkammer inventory...

["Rafal T. Prinke" <rafalp@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jorge Stolfi wrote:

>     >  2585.  In folio.  Ein _philosophisch_ alt geschriben buch mit

> I suppose that the phrase "in folio" means that the book was made
> from whole sheets of vellum, folded only once (the binding fold).
> Can we draw any conclusion from this note about the size of item 2585?
> Is the VMs "in folio", "in quarto", or what?

These terms have double meanings: (1) the number of
folding the original sheet of paper (or parchment) and thus 
the number of sheets in a quire; (2) the size of the book (codex)
which is roughly related to the number of foldings, even though
the sizes of original sheets from different paper mills differed 
considerably.

As Rene mentioned that another book in the inventory is classified
as "large folio" we may be sure that the author had the size 
rather than number of foldings in mind, as otherwise the "large"
modifier would not make sense.

But even if it were so, the VMS has quires of 8 sheets so 
it is "in octavo" also in this sense.

Best regards,

Rafal