There is a great deal of debate
amongst miniature book collectors and rare books
scholars about what constitutes a miniature
“book.” For example, in her book The History
of Miniature Books, Doris Welsh writes that the
first miniature books were clay tablets (about 1x1
inches) dating back at least 4,000 years. Next
followed miniature scrolls and miniature manuscripts,
but it was not until about 500 years ago that the
first miniature book as we know it today was
printed. In the 16th century, about
200 miniature books were printed, among them 46
editions of the Bible, 4 editions of Dante, and 2
editions of Ovid. Religious texts and great
works of literature were printed in small editions,
some commissioned by printers to test their
apprentices with small type, and some printed for
their convenience: miniature books could easily fit
into pockets, strap onto to girdles, or fashionably
slip into ladies’ handbags.
Miniature books were also popularly
used for children because their small size made them
more accessible. They often contained Bible
stories to familiarize children with scripture, and
lessons so that they could learn to read at home.
After the Industrial
Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th
centuries, however, paper became easier to make and
books became cheaper to bind. No longer
meticulously created in editions of less than a
hundred, miniature books were dispensed as prizes from
gumball machines, handed out by the American Tract
Society of New York, and became more popular than
ever. Today, there is a growing market of
miniature titles fashioned for popular
consumption. Miniature magazines, miniature
books, and miniature religious tracts continue to be
rapidly produced. Running Press, which prints
such small books as Mini Bonsai Kit (Robert
King, Running Press: 2001) and The Mini Zen
Gardening Kit (Abd Al-Hayy Moore, Running Press:
2000), produces novelty items that sell at Borders and
Barnes and Noble Bookstores. These impulse buys
are scorned by miniature book collectors like Weber
for their mass-produced, cheap quality. However,
miniature artists’ books and finely bound books are
still made and are popular amongst collectors.
