Miniature Books: 4,000 Years of Tiny Treasures by Anne C. Bromer and Julian I Edison

Published in conjunction with a May 16–July 28 exhibition at the Grolier Club in New York, this handsome volume traces the history of books ranging in height from three inches to less than a quarter of an inch. Included are books of many kinds, often containing beautiful illustrations—illuminated medieval and Renaissance devotional books, including the world's smallest Bible, chained to its own little lectern; Arabic and Indian scriptures; and the complete works of Shakespeare in a miniature revolving bookcase. Some of these books were intended for amusement, such as those made for Queen Mary's dolls' house; others have more practical uses, such as small traveling libraries and little Hebrew books that could be concealed in times of persecution. The smallest book ever is a New Testament printed in 24-karat gold on a silicon chip. There are elegant bindings in materials such as leather, mother-of-pearl and gold filigree. In their informative text, Bromer, a rare book dealer, and Edison, a collector, discuss the diverse contents of these tiny volumes, as well as papermaking, printing processes and publishers. Their delightful book is a feast for the eye, with more than 260 color illustrations in which most of the books are pictured in actual size. (May)
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Reader Reviews
What I found delightful in this survey were the books from the recent past. Obviously the authors rightly cover historical items (and with beautiful photos, too) but books right up to the turn of the new century are included. Some of these really look beautiful like the 1988 colorful polycarbonate covers from Maurice Dufrene's `Florilegium' or the wraparound cover to Frank Dobie's 1979 `White Mustang', created with several different leathers. Both books are only two and a half inches tall. The nine chapters, in words and images, give an overview of tiny tomes and it was nice to see that most of the books features are displayed actual size. Perhaps missing from the text was a brief description of how many of the books were printed. There is an interesting photo on page 106 of an uncut sheet from 1752 `London Almanack' showing twenty pages (and a gatefold of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Palace) which were no problem to print but the precision was in the binding such small items, if the craftsmen were a fraction out part of a page could easily be missing. Judging by the amount of commercially printed books included from the last hundred or so years binding machinery can handle small pages easily. The last chapter covers oddities including a 1991 German medical companies little book with a dummy heart pacemaker as part of the package. A sidebar is devoted to hidden paintings, printed or individually artist painted, on the fanned out fore pages. `A Small Book of Flies' printed in 1983 includes actual fishing flies (under a piece of glass) in a book two and three quarter inches by one and three quarters. It is this coverage of books besides the usual fine art ones that made the book come alive for me. Incidentally the production is first class, with gold blocking on three sides (when was the last time you saw that on a book?) printed in 175dpi screen and a handy silk bookmark. ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

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