Aardvark

Page numbers were sometimes used even before printing, but not commonly used until much later. Shakespeare's period texts were not numbered, so it was at least mid-to-late 17th Century.

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Since almost the beginning of codices: Link http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=159503126 shows a page number in Greek if you look at the upper left corner of the view on the right (ΟΔ or 74). The fragment is dated circa 200; earliest mention of codices is in Martial 1.2, circa 86, though no mention is made of numbers.

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I want to add the following answer i got from Seattle public library, i asked the question via Ask a Librarian service, and i got the following answer:

"AldusMantius (founder Aldine Press Vencie) is generally credited with first using pagination regularly in printed books around 1499. This was in part necessary because he pioneered the use of smaller sized books (smaller than folio) and printed in great quantity - pagniation was also an aid to printers assembling the books.

A presurser to pagination was foliation where the recto side of pages was numbered in manuscripts and very early books - Johannes da Spira of Venice in 1470s is generally credited with this use (Encyclopedia of the Book,Glaister, Geoffrey, 1996)

We note the following website for Aldus:

http://bookappraisals.blogspot.com/2009/02/history-of-books.html "

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