The Fine Press book movement started at the end of the 19th Century. Started by William Morris at his home, Kelmscott Manor, Kelmscott books tried to replicate the high quality of incunabula books from the early days of printing (1467-1501). Fine Press books used high quality paper, ink, and binding materials and often had collaboration between writer, illustrator, and publisher to create the best version of a book possible.
There are several different types of folios that printers used to create different sized books. A folio, is simply a piece of paper or parchment that would become a leaf of a book. Usually, the pages would be folded in half, which would be called a folio. This would be quite a large book, with the size of the cow or paper sheet determining the final size. A quarto, the next largest book, is when the piece of paper is folded in half, and then half again, making a medium sized book. An octavo is, like the name suggests, a piece of paper folded into eight sections which would make a very small book. There are even smaller versions, like twelve or 16 pages per sheet.
In the opposite direction, elephant folios are very large books, usually over the ‘normal’ folio size. In today’s book environment, think a coffee table book size, usually large, cumbersome, and potentially heavy. This book, considered an elephant folio, is 18″ by 14″ inches, giving incredible detail for the drawings within.