Itty Bitty: Miniature Books in Special Collections
Special Collections’ newest exhibit features our tiniest books, ranging from handwritten religious texts to cookbooks, children’s books, and Shakespeare. Visit go/tinybooks for a virtual exhibit experience.
Tiny books fit well into the hands of small children, they are easy to carry in your pocket (or even around your neck!), and they feel special by virtue of their size. Depending on who you ask, not everyone agrees on which books qualify as “miniature.” While many serious collectors maintain a strict 7.6 cm height rule, we (and the Library of Congress) consider all books 10 cm in height or less to be miniature books.
The books in this exhibit date from the 17th to the 21st century and measure between 1.8 and 10 cm tall. Ranging from religious manuscripts to cookbooks, children’s books, and Shakespeare, the variety of tiny books on display begs you to take a closer look and wonder why and how they came to be.
The exhibit is installed in Davis Family Library on the Main Level, on the Lower Level in the Periodical Reading Area, and in the entry of Special Collections for the duration of the 2021-2022 academic year.
Visit go/tinybooks for a virtual exhibit experience.
Curated by Kaitlin Buerge ‘13
Exhibition design and support by Rebekah Irwin with photography by Kaitlin Buerge ‘13 and Paul Dahm
Tiny book hand models: Huthefa Abdullahi Maalim ‘24.5, Bailey Sneed ‘22.5, Abdulrahman (Abed) Abbas ‘24, Katie van der Merwe ‘22, and Kaitlin Buerge ‘13.
