(Apologies for the deleted post -- I don't have a paid account so I can't edit)

I don't know, actually. We are reaching the point where broadsheets are being used fairly often, and the printing press is just round the corner. Not to mention the fact that both of them were extremely wealthy and literary patrons to boot, so they certainly would have had a fair amount of access to paper if they had been so inclined.

That being said, I doubt they were taking it literally.