MINI BOOKS -- A LONG & CELEBRATED HISTORY!

Peeps -- don't be shy. There's still time to nab a FREE Tiny Book by Tom Beckett -- Leny Strobel has updated her July 19 post to include her email addy you can write for said free teeny.

Moi Meritage Press Tiny Books are sized at about 1 3/4" X 1 3/4". That's smaller than the average miniature book (3" X 3") but larger than the tiniest miniature book ever of .9 millimeter by .9 millimeter. My handwriting text (and drawings in some cases) reflect back to the 13th to 14th century origins of the miniature books! I got these details from Jessica Smith who's been posting about miniature books. Most recently, she linked to the Helen Van Dyke Miniature Book Collection; here's an excerpt:

Miniature books can be traced to the 13th and 14th centuries, before the invention of printing, when text was handwritten and pictures were painted on pages measuring about 3 by 1 7/8 inches. With the development of the printing press, thinner paper and smaller typefaces, the number of miniature books published increased during the centuries that followed. Little books served very practical purposes, holding information in easily portable and compact spaces. Nobles, nuns, priests, students and laypersons found it easier to travel with miniature books tucked into pockets or attached to girdles and belts. Printers enjoyed the challenge of making miniature books with extravagant bindings of tortoise shell, leather, sterling silver, embroidery, and vellum. The classic miniature book is about 3-by-3inches and can be read with the naked eye. The Guinness Book of World Records listed Ian McDonald’s 1 millimeter copy of Old King Cole as the “smallest book in the world.” According to a report in the March 1998, Miniature Book News, Anatoli Konenko of Omsk, Russia challenged that record with his miniature version of Chekov’s Hameleon. It measures .9 millimeter by .9 millimeter, and must be read with a 30-power magnifying glass!