Does anyone know why and how the 81/2 by 14 size came to be know as
"legal size" and the yellow pads that size came to be known as "legal pads?"
We know that by the late 1880's, relatively large yellow ruled pad of
paper were available. And we know that paper sizes were determined bu
the arm span of the average paper maker (determined to be approximately
44 inches), and the weight of the mould he could lift and throw, so that
paper was made in sheets roughly 17 by 44. When quartered, they became
81/2 by 11 and sometimes as large as 81/2 by 14.
We even know that in 1888 in Holyoke Massachusetts, Thomas Holly
purchased the scraps of a paper mill cheaply, inscribed rules upon them
and stitched them into pads. And Holly's pads grew to become what we
now call legal pads. His company, Ampad is now one of the largest
producers of pads.
We have also heard the theories that perhaps yellow dye was the
cheapest, so they became yellow, or that at the turn of the century, the
color yellow was thought to stimulate the intellect, but this is
Internet stuff, and not substantiated.
But with pads and their size, why the adjective "legal?"
Howard Senzel
Public Services Librarian
Southern New England School of Law
Dartmouth MA
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