Section VII4 entries
Signatures T · U · V · W
Margins, spacing and the eye.
The Page
Word spacing, measure, margins and running heads are all inventions, most of them so old that they now read as nature. These entries take them apart one at a time.
Entries in The Page
Filed by fold
- Word spacing
Latin was written scriptio continua; separating words is an invention, and silent reading becomes ordinary after it.
Signature T
The Page - Measure
Line length decides how easily the eye finds the next line, which is what a margin is actually for.
Signature U
The Page - Margins
Proportioned page layouts, and why the outer margin is the widest.
Signature V
The Page - Running heads and apparatus
Headers, folios, footnotes and the index — navigation invented piece by piece.
Signature W
The Page