Medieval Text Layout

June 21, 2015

A 1/9 gutter margin equals the outer margin and creates visual balance because it's mirrored in the facing page.

June 21, 2015

Actually, I was thinking of the open book (or two-page spread), sorry if my comment was not clear.

I never heard that the combined gutter margins are the same width as the individual outer margins (do you have a reference for that?).

Off the top of my head, no, I do not have a reference. But I do have some experience in the dim past in calligraphy and book design and binding.

June 21, 2015

I too am a book designer and have been working at it since the early '90s, having typeset upwards of 150 books during this time. With respect to page layout I tend to use Tschichold's scheme for determining the underlying page geometry and adjust from there as necessary / desired. The reason I ask for a reference is that I've done a fair amount of research on the topic over the years for work and pleasure and have never come across the equation you mention. Nor have I ever simply measured the results of his process, which I'll have to do just to see. To summarize, it seems quite plausible, it's just hard to imagine that, 1) either Tschichold et al never spelled it out or, 2) I've completely overlooked it (though, admittedly, it wouldn't be the first time I've overlooked something such as this. )

June 21, 2015

The reason I ask for a reference is that I've done a fair amount of research on the topic over the years for work and pleasure and have never come across the equation you mention. Nor have I ever simply measured the results of his process, which I'll have to do just to see. To summarize, it seems quite plausible, it's just hard to imagine that, 1) either Tschichold et al never spelled it out or, 2) I've completely overlooked it (though, admittedly, it wouldn't be the first time I've overlooked something such as this. )

Dividing the page into a 9x9 grid, using 1/9 inside and 2/9 outside margin gives a gutter of 2/9 page width - same as the outside borders.

The Van de Graaf canon - also found by Tschichold - puts the upper inside corner of the text block on a diagonal of the single page, the upper outside corner on a diagonal of the two-page spread. So by definition the outside border again is exactly twice as wide as a single inside border, making the gutter the same width as the outside border.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Andreas Weber

June 21, 2015

I did a couple of quick mockups in InDesign using different page dimensions, and lo and behold, the outside margin is indeed twice the gutter. And – didn't expect this either – the bottom margin is twice the top. Guess an old dog can learn new tricks. (Tho’, truly, I’m more of a cat person...)

http://i.imgur.com/MlbYEY1.png

http://i.imgur.com/Nd7NtNw.png

http://i.imgur.com/Ncf4J5u.png

June 21, 2015

Well, the page diagonal with the upper inside corner of the text block on it has exactly twice the slope of the "long" diagonal across the two-page spread on which the upper outside corner rests. In other words, for the same change in vertical location the "long" diagonal moves twice as far horizontally (trivial check: if the vertical difference is one page height the "short" diagonal crosses exactly one page width, the "long" one crosses both pages ...)

Now as both upper corners have the same distance from the top, the one on the long diagonal has to be twice as far from the vertical edge of the page than the one on the short diagonal - simple planar geometry.

P.S., also a cat person ;-)

June 21, 2015

…simple planar geometry.

For some of us (myself included, aHEM!), the above statement borders dangerously on the oxymoronic!

June 21, 2015

I did a couple of quick mockups in InDesign using different page dimensions, and lo and behold, the outside margin is indeed twice the gutter. And – didn't expect this either – the bottom margin is twice the top. Guess an old dog can learn new tricks. (Tho’, truly, I’m more of a cat person...)

http://i.imgur.com/MlbYEY1.png

http://i.imgur.com/Nd7NtNw.png

http://i.imgur.com/Ncf4J5u.png

Yep, that looks like what I remember doing more or less "freehand" back in the 1970s and early 80s. Thanks, Andreas! And BMG!

Edited June 21, 2015 by ehemem