Tiny Treasures

 Among the children's books at a sale I found a tiny little volume with board covers. I had never seen one so small. It's called 'The 'Midget' London, and was published by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. Of London in 1901. It contains forty-four photographs of London and gives a concise and thoughtful history of each of the buildings, monuments and parks mentioned. The script is very easy to read too for so tiny a book.

When I brought this book home I googled it and found to my surprise that there is a whole world of little books out there; from small to tiny, and all sizes in between, paperback and hardback, fiction and non-fiction. Just key in 'miniature books' into the search box on E-Bay and you will see that pages and pages of these little books appear. Some are very affordable, and others are hundreds of Euro in price, for reasons of age, condition or rarity or sometimes all three. If there is anybody reading this who has an addictive personality, rein yourself in, because it would be very easy to get hooked on these books.

One point I would mention here is that in the category of miniature books you will often find doll's house books, but in the main these are just covers with the titles and authors inscribed on them, and very few pages inside, if any. In other words, these are usually not real books at all, just fronts like those which used to be bought for some big house libraries for show purposes: imitation books. As with everything, there are exceptions, but check before you buy.

Small books you have quite likely come across yourself already are the Collins Gem series, very colourful, sturdy, little volumes with laminated covers, all non-fiction in subjects such as yoga, gems, butterflies, birds and so on. The drawings and/or photographs in these books are very attractive and the print very easy on the eye. I have found that some of the covers crease easily, but other than that, I think they are grand little books, handy to carry in a pocket and easy to read anywhere. These are among the larger miniature books that you will see.

There is a series called Mini Classics, aimed at children, and they are likewise very colourful and the print is clear and easily read by the age group at which they are aimed. They are very soundly bound, with dust jackets, and no doubt they will become collectors' items as they age. Two I own are: “Beauty and the Beast” Retold by Stephanie Laslett, illustrated by Alison Winfield, and “Little Red Riding Hood”, also retold by Stephanie Laslett but illustrated by Martin Aitchison. The publishers are Shooting Star Press, Inc., New York, but I can't find a date on either book.

Running Press publish a series of these miniature books. They come in all subjects, non-fiction again. They are very little bigger than “The 'Midget' London”, that is, very small indeed. My two favourites are:

“Home - A Little Book of Comfort” published in 1996, which consists of poetry and prose excerpts by various writers all around the theme of home. There are the most lovely little illustrations in colour, by Barbara Strawser, whom I looked up online and found is a very popular artist in the U.S.; the covers and inside papers are also her work. It is a refreshing, cheerful little book, with a ribbon bookmark and usually a little key on the end of this as a piquant finishing touch This is missing on mine, and the ribbon is a little threadbare, but I love it anyway. To anyone who has ever loved a home, or maybe is only just hoping to have a home of their own, this must appeal; it would make a lovely housewarming present too.

The other one I really like is called “Native American Wisdom” published by Running Press, Philadelphia and London, 1993, and with photographs by Edward S. Curtis. In the introduction we are told that Curtis published a “twenty-volume masterwork: The North American Indian.....This book presents some of Curtis's most striking photographs. Accompanying them are statements of cultural values, beliefs and attitudes from a number of Native Americans who lived and experienced traditional tribal life in the years between the Civil War and 1930, the year Curtis finished The North American Indian. Their words preserve the wisdom, and the photographs give individual faces to history. “

These Running Press miniatures are truly lovely little treasures, complete with hard covers and dust jackets.

Not all of these mini books are non-fiction: Del Prado publishers of Madrid produce hundreds of fiction classics from around the world in miniature. I bought a volume of tales of Tchekov in this series myself, but ended up giving it to someone who loved it. Once again, the text is clear and easy to read. There are no illustrations for reasons of lack of space, obviously, but they are very well bound. However, I think they would have benefited from a ribbon marker, unless it is just mine that had none, because it is easy to lose your place in a book this size, as the pages are so tight that they close quickly if you do not hold them open.

There really are little jewels among miniature books. Most of them would be way beyond my price range. On E-Bay I bought “Browning – Thoughts – selected by Louey Chisholm” published by TC and EC Jack of London & Edinburgh. 'Ivory Booklets' is written inside, but I can't find a date, but it's definitely at least a hundred years old. Mine did have a red ribbon bookmark which has become detached, and there is a lot of foxing on the pages. It was very cheap on E-Bay, so I suppose I can't complain, and I do love a lot of the writings of the poet Robert Browning that I have read, which wouldn't be a huge amount. I suppose most of you will have come across:

             “Grow old along with me!

                  The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:
               Our times are in His hand
              Who saith “A whole I planned,
           Youth shows but half; trust God: see
                 all nor be afraid!”

                                             Rabbi Ben Ezra  

Little excerpts of prose or poetry such as this are very nice to carry in your pocket or bag for an idle moment. Once again, the print in this pocketsized book is clear and very legible, probably one of the more important details to be taken into account in the production

of these little volumes.

Now that you know about them, see what you can find for yourself, and happy hunting!