The art of the miniature book

01 Jul 2008 1 Comment

by madsilence in Art, Book, Books, Children's books, Collecting, Culture, Life, Literature, On Books & Reading, Reading, Thoughts Tags: miniature books, miniatures

Image source: An exhibition of a private collection displayed at the Library of Castilla in Toledo, via the Miniature Book Society

Miniature books, most of which are less than three inches tall and some of which are smaller than a penny, have delighted readers for centuries.  Popular because they are easily carried or concealed, these delightful books range from Shakespeare’s classics to tiny Holy Bibles, politics to presidents, illustrated children’s books and more…

Image source: 4000 Years of Miniature Books, online exhibition, Indiana University

What Is a Miniature Book?
According to the Miniature Book Society, Inc., in the United States, a miniature book is usually considered to be one which is no more than three inches in size–height, width or thickness. Some collectors do occasionally acquire slightly larger books. Outside of the United States, books up to four inches are collected as miniature books. Miniature books continue to be published and collected today. Go here for a Gallery of Books from Modern and Contemporary Presses.

Books the size of a playing card, a postage stamp or your thumbnail have beguiled Julian Edison since his college days. Today he has a library of many thousands of these remarkable miniatures spanning 4,000 years, almost all 3 inches high or smaller, which fill bookshelves in his library. Some might be hard to see: His smallest book is less than 1 millimeter high, printed by the Tokyo-based Toppan Printing Company in 2000. “Miniature books have been produced for reasons of practicality, curiosity and aesthetics,” he says. “Many people think of these as novelties which can’t be read, and for the most part nothing could be further from the truth. Most of them don’t require a magnifying glass to be read. The type size and the size of the book don’t necessarily correspond.” Harvard’s Houghton Library held an exhibition of highlights from the collection in 2005. In 2007, the Grolier Club in New York held an exhibition of highlights from it, to coincide with the publication of Miniature Books: 4,000 Years of Tiny Treasures (Harry N. Abrams Inc.), which Edison co-edited with Boston rare book dealer Anne C. Bromer.

L’amour et les belles, Paris 1818. Le petit chansonnier, Paris 1842. Plaisir et gaîté, Paris 1824. Miniature books from the collection of Julian I. Edison.

~TAB