I'm hand-trimming 3 copies of a 7-sheet 18"x26" annexation map as the sheets come off the plotter, and I'm wondering why California legislated such an oddball sheet size for certain maps. Can anyone tell me the history behind it?
.
Why 18"x26"?
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Jim Frame
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Steve Martin
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E_Page
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I had heard that it was originally to accomodate the originals being bound in the Recorder's map books. But that may be speculation as I am unable to find that it was originally prescribed that a wider margin be made on the left side.
The earliest that I see 18x26 show up is in 1929, with a 1" margin all around. For a short time in the 60s, there was a 1 1/2" margin on the left. that is the only reference I've found to a wider left margin. There was also provision for using 18x13, depending upon whether the recorder had 18x26 map books or 18x13 map books. The 18x13 size went away in 1974.
Prior to 18x26 prescribed size, other sizes were 21x30 (1891) and not more than 36x36 (1901). No particular margin width was prescribed at that time.
The earliest that I see 18x26 show up is in 1929, with a 1" margin all around. For a short time in the 60s, there was a 1 1/2" margin on the left. that is the only reference I've found to a wider left margin. There was also provision for using 18x13, depending upon whether the recorder had 18x26 map books or 18x13 map books. The 18x13 size went away in 1974.
Prior to 18x26 prescribed size, other sizes were 21x30 (1891) and not more than 36x36 (1901). No particular margin width was prescribed at that time.
Evan Page, PLS
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land butcher
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dmi
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my guess
16" x 24" is and has been a standard paper size for some time now. A 1" border around a standard sheet leaves one with an 18" x 26" sheet size , a non standard paper size. On the other hand, if the sheet size were to remain a standard paper size, then the area for mapping would be 14" x 22".
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E_Page
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16x24? I always thought Architectural C was 18x24. ANSI C is 17x22. Don't recall ever seeing a standard of 16x24.
Arch Scale:
A = 9 x 12
B = 12 x 18
C = 18 x 24
D = 24 x 36
E = 36 x 48
ANSI
A = 8.5 x 11
B = 11 x 17
C = 17 x 22
D = 22 x 34
E = 34 x 44
Looking through the history of the PLSA and SMA, I haven't seen any correlation to any standard sizes, unless it happened to be a standard roll width (did drafting linen come in either 30" or 36" rolls or was it only available in sheet form?), at a length that whoever came up with considered to be convenient.
The answer probably died with whoever came up with it.
Arch Scale:
A = 9 x 12
B = 12 x 18
C = 18 x 24
D = 24 x 36
E = 36 x 48
ANSI
A = 8.5 x 11
B = 11 x 17
C = 17 x 22
D = 22 x 34
E = 34 x 44
Looking through the history of the PLSA and SMA, I haven't seen any correlation to any standard sizes, unless it happened to be a standard roll width (did drafting linen come in either 30" or 36" rolls or was it only available in sheet form?), at a length that whoever came up with considered to be convenient.
The answer probably died with whoever came up with it.
Evan Page, PLS
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dmi
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Univwrsity of paper
Question: Why do we use 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper as our standard letter
size?
Answer: Standardized paper sizes actually came about as a more-or-less
hit-or-miss situation, rather than a planned event. Here's the whole
story of paper sizes:
The quest for standardized paper sizes began in the 14th century in
Bologna, Italy. In the year 1398, a marble tablet inscribed with the
outlines of four sizes of paper [small, medium, large, and
extra-large] was placed in a public place to serve as a guide for the
sizes of paper manufactured in that region of Italy. This appears to
be the first time that paper sizes were regulated and standardized.
Centuries later, in 1786, physics professor Georg Christoph
Lichtenberg of Germany noted the advantages of paper sizes having a
height-to-width ratio of the square root of two (1:1.4142). The
Lichtenberg Ratio has the advantage of preserving the aspect ratio
when cutting a page in two. This ratio is also the basis for the
metric-based ISO paper size system used by most of the industrialized
nations today.
A few years later, in 1794, the French government issued a law that
specified paper size formats that correspond exactly to several of the
modern ISO paper sizes. Today the United States and Canada are the
only modern countries in which the ISO standard paper sizes are not
widely used.
The historic origins of the U.S. letter size format (8½ x 11" / 216 x
279mm) are relatively obscure. There were attempts in 1921 by the
Permanent Conference on Printing, and also by the U.S. Secretary of
Commerce, former President Hoover, to standardize paper sizes to an
entirely different 8 x 10½" format. This size was established as the
standard for U.S. Government letterheads, and continued until the
Reagan administration declared in 1980 that the official paper format
for the U.S. government would be the 8½ x 11" size.
At the same time that the Hoover standard of 8 x 10½" paper was
adopted, another committee known as the Committee on the
Simplification of Paper Sizes recommended six completely different
paper sizes. These sizes appear to have been selected merely because
of their being traditional. What later became our familiar letter size
format is simply one of these basic sizes (17 x 22") halved. Our legal
size paper (8½ x 14" / 17 x 28") is also one of the papers specified
by the Committee on the Simplification of Paper Sizes.
As far as can be determined, the 8½ x 11" letter size began to be used
in the United States during or shortly after the First World War.
There was apparently no effort made to prove that this was the optimal
size for commercial letterhead. The purpose simply appeared to be to
reduce the haphazard and chaotic variety of paper stocks and
inventories to the most commonly used sizes.
Paper University: E-newsletter, September/October 2002
size?
Answer: Standardized paper sizes actually came about as a more-or-less
hit-or-miss situation, rather than a planned event. Here's the whole
story of paper sizes:
The quest for standardized paper sizes began in the 14th century in
Bologna, Italy. In the year 1398, a marble tablet inscribed with the
outlines of four sizes of paper [small, medium, large, and
extra-large] was placed in a public place to serve as a guide for the
sizes of paper manufactured in that region of Italy. This appears to
be the first time that paper sizes were regulated and standardized.
Centuries later, in 1786, physics professor Georg Christoph
Lichtenberg of Germany noted the advantages of paper sizes having a
height-to-width ratio of the square root of two (1:1.4142). The
Lichtenberg Ratio has the advantage of preserving the aspect ratio
when cutting a page in two. This ratio is also the basis for the
metric-based ISO paper size system used by most of the industrialized
nations today.
A few years later, in 1794, the French government issued a law that
specified paper size formats that correspond exactly to several of the
modern ISO paper sizes. Today the United States and Canada are the
only modern countries in which the ISO standard paper sizes are not
widely used.
The historic origins of the U.S. letter size format (8½ x 11" / 216 x
279mm) are relatively obscure. There were attempts in 1921 by the
Permanent Conference on Printing, and also by the U.S. Secretary of
Commerce, former President Hoover, to standardize paper sizes to an
entirely different 8 x 10½" format. This size was established as the
standard for U.S. Government letterheads, and continued until the
Reagan administration declared in 1980 that the official paper format
for the U.S. government would be the 8½ x 11" size.
At the same time that the Hoover standard of 8 x 10½" paper was
adopted, another committee known as the Committee on the
Simplification of Paper Sizes recommended six completely different
paper sizes. These sizes appear to have been selected merely because
of their being traditional. What later became our familiar letter size
format is simply one of these basic sizes (17 x 22") halved. Our legal
size paper (8½ x 14" / 17 x 28") is also one of the papers specified
by the Committee on the Simplification of Paper Sizes.
As far as can be determined, the 8½ x 11" letter size began to be used
in the United States during or shortly after the First World War.
There was apparently no effort made to prove that this was the optimal
size for commercial letterhead. The purpose simply appeared to be to
reduce the haphazard and chaotic variety of paper stocks and
inventories to the most commonly used sizes.
Paper University: E-newsletter, September/October 2002
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dmi
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http://www.archivebuilders.com/aba006.html
In the United States System, when enlarging page size from 'A' Size to 'B' Size, the aspect ratio changes. That is, when one enlarges an 8 1/2 x 11 inch image to 11 x 17 inches, it does not fit exactly. The Europeans who established the metric paper sizes engineered a paper size series in which the aspect ratio is the same for all paper sizes. The only aspect ratio for which this is possible is the square root of two. In the metric world, when an image is enlarged from one paper size to another, the image fits exactly.
United States Paper Sizes in Inches, New (Trimmed) and Old (Untrimmed)
Name New Size Old Size Name New Size Old Size
A 8 1/2 x 11 9 x 12 F 28 x 40 varies
B 11 x 17 12 x 18 G 11 x (22 1/2 to 90) varies
C 17 x 22 18 x 24 H 28 x (44 to 143) varies
D 22 x 34 24 x 36 J 34 x (55 to 176) varies
E 34 x 44 36 x 48 K 40 x (55 to 143) varies
In the United States System, when enlarging page size from 'A' Size to 'B' Size, the aspect ratio changes. That is, when one enlarges an 8 1/2 x 11 inch image to 11 x 17 inches, it does not fit exactly. The Europeans who established the metric paper sizes engineered a paper size series in which the aspect ratio is the same for all paper sizes. The only aspect ratio for which this is possible is the square root of two. In the metric world, when an image is enlarged from one paper size to another, the image fits exactly.
United States Paper Sizes in Inches, New (Trimmed) and Old (Untrimmed)
Name New Size Old Size Name New Size Old Size
A 8 1/2 x 11 9 x 12 F 28 x 40 varies
B 11 x 17 12 x 18 G 11 x (22 1/2 to 90) varies
C 17 x 22 18 x 24 H 28 x (44 to 143) varies
D 22 x 34 24 x 36 J 34 x (55 to 176) varies
E 34 x 44 36 x 48 K 40 x (55 to 143) varies
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Lee Hixson
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bruce hall
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(did drafting linen come in either 30" or 36" rolls or was it only available in sheet form?),
When I was in high school (circa 64-66) I remember cutting the linen sheets off a roll. Don't remember its width, but I still have a roll I acquired about 8 years ago and it is 36 inches wide and a "million" miles long.
Even the plan and profile linen came in a roll. It wasn't until the early 70's did I see pre-cut sheets of linen.
When I was in high school (circa 64-66) I remember cutting the linen sheets off a roll. Don't remember its width, but I still have a roll I acquired about 8 years ago and it is 36 inches wide and a "million" miles long.
Even the plan and profile linen came in a roll. It wasn't until the early 70's did I see pre-cut sheets of linen.
Bruce Hall Land Surveyor No. 4743
5732 Middlecoff Drive
Huntington Beach, Ca. 92649
714 840 4380
5732 Middlecoff Drive
Huntington Beach, Ca. 92649
714 840 4380
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dmi
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land butcher
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Dave Karoly, PLS
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A couple of Counties in Southern California used to allow two R/Ss on one 18x26 sheet. I've seen that in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
The sheet is divided down the middle and the same surveyor put two different projects on either side. This seems to have ended by the 1960s.
The sheet is divided down the middle and the same surveyor put two different projects on either side. This seems to have ended by the 1960s.
"Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines." -General "Buck" Turgidson
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bruce hall
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