The bibliophile's glossary
Large paper
A copy printed on paper of a larger format or of a finer quality than that used for the ordinary issue. Generally produced in small numbers, the large-paper copy often belongs to the limited deluxe edition, though the two notions are not strictly synonymous. Copies printed up to the 18th century and described as large-paper are generally what we call, for more recent works, limited deluxe editions.
Since the seventeenth century, printers have struck off a small part of an edition on a larger, stronger or finer paper than that used for the common copies: this is the large-paper issue, reserved for dedicatees, prominent subscribers and connoisseurs. In the eighteenth century, the luxury editions of the Fermiers généraux or of Didot thus numbered their copies on Holland paper or on grand raisin; in the nineteenth, with Charpentier and Lemerre, and then in the twentieth with Gallimard and Grasset, the large-paper issue became a codified practice, announced by the justification of the print run, on Japon, Holland, vellum or laid paper.
A large-paper copy is verified first by the justification, where one exists, and then by the paper itself: its tone, its texture, its watermark, its dimensions before trimming, compared with those of an ordinary copy. Ampler margins, retained deckle edges and the absence of trimming are all telling signs. Its value derives from its genuine rarity, its rank within the hierarchy of papers of the print run, and the condition of the copy — luxury papers, moreover, often keeping better than ordinary paper.
The large-paper issue is frequently confused with the limited deluxe edition: the former is a paper, the latter is the most luxurious part of a print run, which may comprise several papers. A copy on a luxury paper printed in large numbers, as with certain post-war vellums, does not have the rarity one might suppose. Lastly, copies of the ordinary run have sometimes been trimmed to the same dimensions as a large-paper copy, or the reverse: only the substance of the paper settles the matter.
In the catalogue
Related terms
Limited deluxe editionOrdinary editionReview copyJapan paperHolland paperNumbered copy
Frequently asked questions
What is a large-paper copy?
This refers to a copy printed on paper of a larger format or of a more sought-after quality than that of the standard print run, issued in a small number of copies and generally numbered. Until the eighteenth century, the expression denoted what is known today, for modern books, as the Limited deluxe edition.
Are « grand papier » (large paper) and « tirage de tête » (limited deluxe edition) the same thing?
Not exactly. The limited deluxe edition is the most luxurious portion of the print run, often on large paper; but a large-paper copy can exist without an announced limited deluxe edition, and a limited deluxe edition may be distinguished by something other than the paper, such as a suite of engravings.
How can you check that a copy is on large paper?
One compares its dimensions and paper to those of the ordinary copy described by the bibliographies, reads the limitation statement and the watermark, and checks that the copy has not been trimmed to the point of losing its large margins.