"long" and "bigness" in 1694

[Joel S. Berson]

The Massachusetts laws circa 1694 that specified the wearing of a
letter for adultery or incest said the letter had to be "of two
inches long and proportionable bigness".

Which dimension is two inches "long" -- vertical or horizontal?

My guess is the vertical.  The OED for "long" has senses that would
allow either.  But there is "1.a. Great in measurement from end to
end. Said ... of a portion of space or a material object with
reference to its greatest dimension."  The greatest dimension of a
letter would be its vertical.  Also, fonts are (perhaps, even at that
time) characterized by their vertical dimension.

Does "bigness"  suggest one or the other, vertical or
horizontal?  (The OED is not terribly enlightening on this.  One
sense is "1.b. Circumference; girth".  But circumference seems an
implausible measurement to specify for a letter.)

Joel

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