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{{short description|Very small book}} |
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[[File:Jefferson nutshell.jpg|thumb|[http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u4306308 ''The United States History and Presidents in a Nutshell''], c. 1904]] |
[[File:Jefferson nutshell.jpg|thumb|[http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u4306308 ''The United States History and Presidents in a Nutshell''], c. 1904]] |
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[[File:Universal Declaration of Human Rights (miniature book).JPG|thumb|[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]]] |
[[File:Universal Declaration of Human Rights (miniature book).JPG|thumb|[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]]] |
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A '''miniature book''' is a very small book. Standards for what may be termed a miniature rather than just a small book have changed through time. Today, most collectors consider a book to be miniature only if it is 3 inches or smaller in height, width, and thickness, particularly in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mbs.org/|title=What is a miniature book?|last=|first=|date=|website=MIniature Book Society|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date= |
A '''miniature book''' is a very small book. Standards for what may be termed a miniature rather than just a small book have changed through time. Today, most collectors consider a book to be miniature only if it is 3 inches or smaller in height, width, and thickness, particularly in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mbs.org/|title=What is a miniature book?|last=|first=|date=|website=MIniature Book Society|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=April 4, 2018}}</ref> Many collectors consider nineteenth-century and earlier books of 4 inches to fit in the category of miniatures. Book from 3-4 inches in all dimensions are termed '''macrominiature books'''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/arts/design/20grim.html|title=Catching Up on a Little Light Reading|last=Grimes|first=William|date=May 20, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 15, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Books less than 1 inch in all dimensions are called '''microminiature books'''. Books less than 1/4 inch in all dimensions are known as '''ultra-microminiature books'''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/miniature-books-iowa-antique|title=Beautiful Miniature Books That Are Worth Sacrificing Your Eyesight For|date=May 26, 2017|work=Atlas Obscura|access-date=April 14, 2018|language=en}}</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Miniature books stretch back far in history; many collections contain [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform tablets]] stretching back thousands of years, and exquisite medieval [[Book of hours|Books of Hours]]. Printers began testing the limits of size not long after the technology of printing began, and around 200 miniature books were printed in the sixteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.oxy.edu/special-collections/minibooks/throughtheyears.htm|title=Miniature Books Through the Years|website=sites.oxy.edu|access-date= |
Miniature books stretch back far in history; many collections contain [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform tablets]] stretching back thousands of years, and exquisite medieval [[Book of hours|Books of Hours]]. Printers began testing the limits of size not long after the technology of printing began, and around 200 miniature books were printed in the sixteenth century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.oxy.edu/special-collections/minibooks/throughtheyears.htm|title=Miniature Books Through the Years|website=sites.oxy.edu|access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref> Exquisite specimens from the 17th century abound. In the 19th century, technological innovations in printing enabled the creation of smaller and smaller type. Fine and popular additions alike grew in number throughout the 19th century in what was considered the golden age for minature books.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/minibooks.htm|title=Miniature Books|last=|first=|date=October 22, 2012|work=American Antiquarian Society|access-date=April 14, 2018|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|language=en}}</ref><ref name="gu12">{{cite web |title=Why are we fascinated by Minature books? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/03/why-we-are-fascinated-by-miniature-books |website=The Guardian |publisher=The Guardian |accessdate=22 September 2019}}</ref> While some miniature books are objects of high craft, bound in fine [[Morocco|Moroccan]] leather, with [[Gilding|gilt]] decoration and excellent examples of [[woodcuts]], etchings, and [[watermarks]], others are cheap, disposable, sometimes highly functional items not expected to survive. Today, miniature books are produced both as fine works of craft and as commercial products found in chain bookstores. |
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Some popular types of miniature books from various periods include [[Bible|Bibles]], [[Encyclopedia|encyclopedias]], [[Dictionary|dictionaries]], [[Bilingual dictionary|Bilingual dictionaries,]] [[Short story|short stories]], [[Poetry|verse]], famous speeches, [[Propaganda|political propaganda]], [[Guide book|travel guides]], [[Almanac|almanacs]], children's stories, and the miniaturization of well-known books such as ''[[The Compleat Angler]]'', ''[[The Art of War]]'', and [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories. |
Some popular types of miniature books from various periods include [[Bible|Bibles]], [[Encyclopedia|encyclopedias]], [[Dictionary|dictionaries]], [[Bilingual dictionary|Bilingual dictionaries,]] [[Short story|short stories]], [[Poetry|verse]], famous speeches, [[Propaganda|political propaganda]], [[Guide book|travel guides]], [[Almanac|almanacs]], children's stories, and the miniaturization of well-known books such as ''[[The Compleat Angler]]'', ''[[The Art of War]]'', and [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories. The appeal of minature books was holding the works of prominent writers, sch as [[William Shakespeare]] in the person's hands.<ref name="gu12">{{cite web |title=Why are we fascinated by Minature books? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/03/why-we-are-fascinated-by-miniature-books |website=The Guardian |publisher=The Guardian |accessdate=22 September 2019}}</ref> |
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==Notable miniatures== |
==Notable miniatures== |
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[[File:Miniatyrbok med band av sköldpadd, spännen och gångjärn av silver - Skoklosters slott - 92297.tif|thumb|[[Ambrosius Lobwasser]]: ''Die Psalme Davids: Nach fransösischer Melodeij in Teutsch Reimen gebracht''. [[Basel]], 1659 (a miniature book bound in [[tortoiseshell]])]]Abraham Lincoln, ''Proclamation of Emancipation'' (Boston : John Murray Forbes, 1863). This miniature edition was the first of this text. It is estimated that a million copies were distributed to Union troops.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11164736|title=Civil War Troops' Mini Emancipation Book on Display|work=NPR.org|access-date= |
[[File:Miniatyrbok med band av sköldpadd, spännen och gångjärn av silver - Skoklosters slott - 92297.tif|thumb|[[Ambrosius Lobwasser]]: ''Die Psalme Davids: Nach fransösischer Melodeij in Teutsch Reimen gebracht''. [[Basel]], 1659 (a miniature book bound in [[tortoiseshell]])]]Abraham Lincoln, ''Proclamation of Emancipation'' (Boston : John Murray Forbes, 1863). This miniature edition was the first of this text. It is estimated that a million copies were distributed to Union troops.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11164736|title=Civil War Troops' Mini Emancipation Book on Display|work=NPR.org|access-date=April 14, 2018|language=en}}</ref> |
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===Miniature editions of works not originally published in miniature form=== |
===Miniature editions of works not originally published in miniature form=== |
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Many books have claim to the title of smallest book in the world at the time of their publication. The title can apply to a variety of accomplishments: smallest overall size, smallest book with [[movable type]], smallest printed book, smallest book legible to the naked eye, and so on. |
Many books have claim to the title of smallest book in the world at the time of their publication. The title can apply to a variety of accomplishments: smallest overall size, smallest book with [[movable type]], smallest printed book, smallest book legible to the naked eye, and so on. |
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750: ''[[Hyakumantō Darani]]'' or ‘One Million Pagoda Dharani.' Also one of the earliest known printed texts, these 2-3/8" tall Buddhist charms were printed, rolled into a scroll, placed in miniature white pagodas, and distributed to Buddhist temples. A million were printed at the command of Japanese [[Empress Shōtoku]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkQdDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=oldest+buddhist+printed+million+copies&source=bl&ots=prAWVYNX_V&sig=0qYFt2ojnuJTY2-9NQP-e9U4kGQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY27W61LraAhVRNd8KHXZhDkUQ6AEIWjAG#v=onepage&q=oldest%20buddhist%20printed%20million%20copies&f=false|title=The Paper Trail: An Unexpected History of a Revolutionary Invention|last=Monro|first=Alexander|date= |
750: ''[[Hyakumantō Darani]]'' or ‘One Million Pagoda Dharani.' Also one of the earliest known printed texts, these 2-3/8" tall Buddhist charms were printed, rolled into a scroll, placed in miniature white pagodas, and distributed to Buddhist temples. A million were printed at the command of Japanese [[Empress Shōtoku]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkQdDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=oldest+buddhist+printed+million+copies&source=bl&ots=prAWVYNX_V&sig=0qYFt2ojnuJTY2-9NQP-e9U4kGQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY27W61LraAhVRNd8KHXZhDkUQ6AEIWjAG#v=onepage&q=oldest%20buddhist%20printed%20million%20copies&f=false|title=The Paper Trail: An Unexpected History of a Revolutionary Invention|last=Monro|first=Alexander|date=February 21, 2017|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=|isbn=9780307456694|location=|pages=132|language=en}}</ref> |
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1674: ''Bloem-Hofje'' (Amsterdam: Benedict Schmidt, 1674).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xtm4UmzmE44C&pg=PA10&dq=%22smallest+book+in+the+world%22+-teeny&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8pq-RwLraAhURTt8KHSa7DHgQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=%22smallest%20book%20in%20the%20world%22%20-teeny&f=false|title=The Art of Small Things|last=Mack|first=John|date=2007|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=|isbn=9780674026933|location=|pages=10|language=en}}</ref> For more than two centuries, this remained the smallest book printed with moveable type. |
1674: ''Bloem-Hofje'' (Amsterdam: Benedict Schmidt, 1674).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xtm4UmzmE44C&pg=PA10&dq=%22smallest+book+in+the+world%22+-teeny&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8pq-RwLraAhURTt8KHSa7DHgQ6AEILTAB#v=onepage&q=%22smallest%20book%20in%20the%20world%22%20-teeny&f=false|title=The Art of Small Things|last=Mack|first=John|date=2007|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=|isbn=9780674026933|location=|pages=10|language=en}}</ref> For more than two centuries, this remained the smallest book printed with moveable type. |
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1878: Dante, ''Divina Commedia'' (Milan: Gnocchi, 1878). 500 pages. 5 cm x 3.5 cm. Typeset and printed by the Salmin Brothers of Padua.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=December 7, 1878|title=Smallest Book|url=|journal=Saturday Magazine|volume=1.1|pages=60|via=}}</ref> |
1878: Dante, ''Divina Commedia'' (Milan: Gnocchi, 1878). 500 pages. 5 cm x 3.5 cm. Typeset and printed by the Salmin Brothers of Padua.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=December 7, 1878|title=Smallest Book|url=|journal=Saturday Magazine|volume=1.1|pages=60|via=}}</ref> |
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1897: Galileo Galilei. ''Galileo a Madama Cristina di Loren''a (Padua: dei Fratelli Salmin, 1897). 150 pages. This remains to this day the smallest book set from movable type.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libraries.mit.edu/150books/2011/02/12/1897/|title=Year 37 – 1897: Galileo a Madama Cristina di Lorena (1615) by Galileo Galilei {{!}} 150 Years in the Stacks|website=libraries.mit.edu|language=en-US|access-date= |
1897: Galileo Galilei. ''Galileo a Madama Cristina di Loren''a (Padua: dei Fratelli Salmin, 1897). 150 pages. This remains to this day the smallest book set from movable type.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libraries.mit.edu/150books/2011/02/12/1897/|title=Year 37 – 1897: Galileo a Madama Cristina di Lorena (1615) by Galileo Galilei {{!}} 150 Years in the Stacks|website=libraries.mit.edu|language=en-US|access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref> |
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1900: [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward Fitzgerald]], trans. ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam|The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam]]'' (Cleveland: Charles H. Meigs, 1900). |
1900: [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward Fitzgerald]], trans. ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam|The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam]]'' (Cleveland: Charles H. Meigs, 1900). |
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1932: ''The Rose Garden of Omar Khayyam''. |
1932: ''The Rose Garden of Omar Khayyam''. |
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1985: ''Old King Cole'' (Paisley: Gleniffer Press, 1985). Height: 0.9 mm. For 20 years this was the "smallest book in the world printed using offset lithography".<ref>[https://www.nls.uk/exhibitions/treasures/miniature-books/smallest-books Smallest books in NLS - National Library of Scotland], nls.uk. Retrieved |
1985: ''Old King Cole'' (Paisley: Gleniffer Press, 1985). Height: 0.9 mm. For 20 years this was the "smallest book in the world printed using offset lithography".<ref>[https://www.nls.uk/exhibitions/treasures/miniature-books/smallest-books Smallest books in NLS - National Library of Scotland], nls.uk. Retrieved December 17, 2018></ref> |
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2001: New Testament (King James version) Cambridge: M.I.T, 2001). 5 x 5 mm. |
2001: New Testament (King James version) Cambridge: M.I.T, 2001). 5 x 5 mm. |
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2002: [[Anton Chekhov]], ''Chameleon'' (Omsk, Siberia: [[Anatoly Konenko]], 1996)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/oukoe-uk-nanobook/tale-of-teeny-ted-said-to-be-worlds-smallest-book-idUKN1123687920070411|title=Tale of Teeny Ted said to be world's smallest book|last=Editorial|first=Reuters|work=U.K.|access-date= |
2002: [[Anton Chekhov]], ''Chameleon'' (Omsk, Siberia: [[Anatoly Konenko]], 1996)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/oukoe-uk-nanobook/tale-of-teeny-ted-said-to-be-worlds-smallest-book-idUKN1123687920070411|title=Tale of Teeny Ted said to be world's smallest book|last=Editorial|first=Reuters|work=U.K.|access-date=April 14, 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> 0.9 mm x 0.9 mm. |
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2006: ''ABC'' books in Russian and Roman characters (Omsk, Siberia: [[Anatoly Konenko]], 1996). 0.8 mm x 0.8 mm<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kostyuk|first=Yaroslav|date=July 2007|title=Russian Miniature Books displayed at the Taipei International Book Exhibition 2007|url=|journal=MIniature Book Society Newsletter|volume=|pages=6-7|via=}}</ref> |
2006: ''ABC'' books in Russian and Roman characters (Omsk, Siberia: [[Anatoly Konenko]], 1996). 0.8 mm x 0.8 mm<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kostyuk|first=Yaroslav|date=July 2007|title=Russian Miniature Books displayed at the Taipei International Book Exhibition 2007|url=|journal=MIniature Book Society Newsletter|volume=|pages=6-7|via=}}</ref> |
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2007: ''[[Teeny Ted from Turnip Town]]'' (category: world's smallest reproduction of a printed book. Single sheet, not codex format.) 0.07 x 0.10 mm |
2007: ''[[Teeny Ted from Turnip Town]]'' (category: world's smallest reproduction of a printed book. Single sheet, not codex format.) 0.07 x 0.10 mm |
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2016: Vladimir Aniskin, [Untitled] (Russia: Vladimir Aniskin, 2016). "The micro-book consists of several pages, each measuring only very tiny fractions of a millimeter: the precise size of the pages is 70 by 90 micrometers or 0.07 by 0.09 millimeters — too small to be read by the naked human eye. Made by gluing white paint to extremely thin film, the pages are hung from a tiny ring binder that allows them to be turned. The whole construction rests on a horizontal sliver of a poppy seed."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/siberian-man-claims-created-worlds-smallest-book/story?id=37306465|title=Siberian Man Claims to Have Created the World’s Smallest Book|last=News|first=A. B. C.|date=2016 |
2016: Vladimir Aniskin, [Untitled] (Russia: Vladimir Aniskin, 2016). "The micro-book consists of several pages, each measuring only very tiny fractions of a millimeter: the precise size of the pages is 70 by 90 micrometers or 0.07 by 0.09 millimeters — too small to be read by the naked human eye. Made by gluing white paint to extremely thin film, the pages are hung from a tiny ring binder that allows them to be turned. The whole construction rests on a horizontal sliver of a poppy seed."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/siberian-man-claims-created-worlds-smallest-book/story?id=37306465|title=Siberian Man Claims to Have Created the World’s Smallest Book|last=News|first=A. B. C.|date=March 1, 2016|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref> |
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=== Charms, talismans, and amulets === |
=== Charms, talismans, and amulets === |
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=== Museums === |
=== Museums === |
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The [[Morgan Library & Museum]] houses more than 8,000 miniature books. [[Queen Mary's Dolls' House]] at [[Windsor Castle]] in [[Great Britain]] contains a miniature library of 200 books<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-41644697|title=Tiny royal doll house book published|date= |
The [[Morgan Library & Museum]] houses more than 8,000 miniature books. [[Queen Mary's Dolls' House]] at [[Windsor Castle]] in [[Great Britain]] contains a miniature library of 200 books<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-41644697|title=Tiny royal doll house book published|date=October 17, 2017|work=BBC News|access-date=April 14, 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref> created expressly for the collection in the 1920s at a 1:12 [[Scale (ratio)|scale]]. Along with reference volumes, a Bible and the [[Quran]], the library includes works--some written expressly for the collection--by prominent authors of the day such as [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], [[Thomas Hardy]], and [[Vita Sackville-West]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/themes/trails/queen-marys-dolls-house/library|title=Library|website=www.royalcollection.org.uk|language=en|access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref> The books were bound by [[Sangorski & Sutcliffe]], and contained miniature bookplates illustrated by [[E. H. Shepard]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/nov/16/sherlock-holmes-book-queen-marys-dolls-house|title=Tiny Sherlock Holmes book for Queen Mary's dolls' house – in pictures|date=November 16, 2014|work=The Guardian|access-date=April 14, 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The [[Baku Museum of Miniature Books]] in [[Azerbaijan]] is the only museum dedicated only to miniature books. The [[Museum Meermanno]] in [[the Hague]], [[Netherlands]] contains a significant miniature collection on permanent display.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miniature books |url=https://www.meermanno.nl/miniature-books |website=Museum Meermanno |publisher=Museum Meermanno |accessdate=22 September 2019}}</ref> |
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=== Private collections === |
=== Private collections === |
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Prominent historical figures who collected miniature books include President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and retailer [[Stanley Marcus]]. |
Prominent historical figures who collected miniature books include President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidental Library |url=https://fdrlibrary.tumblr.com/post/176807522244/national-book-lovers-day |website=FDR Library |publisher=FDR Library |accessdate=22 September 2019}}</ref> and retailer [[Stanley Marcus]]. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Books}} |
{{Books}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:Books by type]] |
[[Category:Books by type]] |
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[[Category:Bookbinding]] |
[[Category:Bookbinding]] |