Tiny books collection at University of Iowa has volumes smaller than an inch

If you had young eyes, a good magnifying glass and a lifetime, you might be able to plow through most of the magnificent miniature book collection at the University of Iowa Library.

Lifetime being the keyword here. There are 4,000 tiny volumes, some of which contain complete works like their full-size cousins. Most are less than 3 inches tall.

And frankly, some are so minute you can barely read them with a research microscope.

But don’t let that stop you. This collection donated by Charlotte M. Smith of Newton in 1996 is a tiny treasure to behold, as viewers of NBC's "Nightly News" learned last December during a two-minute national TV segment.

“We had people from all over the country calling us after that,” says Colleen Theisen, outreach and engagement librarian. “We also had about a dozen new miniature books donated to us because of that story.”

She’s openly proud of this collection, which draws school classes, scholars, book clubs and curious citizens to the library’s third floor for a peek.

That peek would including viewing two complete sets of tiny books containing all of the works of William Shakespeare, one published in Scotland in 1904.

Another set of classic books in miniature form are displayed in an elaborate dollhouse bookshelf. Theisen pulls "Black Beauty" from the small shelf to measure it — slightly more than three-fourths an inch tall.

And they get much smaller.

Toppan Printing of Japan sold a tiny book just 4 millimeters tall at the 1965 World’s Fair in New York that contains the first chapter of Genesis. Now part of the Smith collection, it must be handled with tweezers and cannot be read with the naked eye.

Theisen says that same company produced an even smaller book in 1983 that is 2 millimeters square, also acquired by Smith and passed on to the university. It balances precariously on a fingertip, about the size of a baby ladybug.

The collection covers many other types of books from various countries and sources, and new books are added from time to time.

There are what were called “thumb Bibles” with leather or gold-stamped cloth covers and gilt-edged pages. There are almanacs, poetry books and miniature volumes of religious tracts and friendship gift books. There are tiny tomes published by companies, corporations and organizations specifically for advertising or promotional purposes.

The oldest book with pages in the collection dates to 1488 and is a book on Catholic spiritual life printed in Latin. These early small volumes were said to be “the constant companion of the devout.”

However, the university has also acquired a 2-by-2-inch cuneiform tablet in clay that dates to before the time of Christ.

“We keep it with the miniature books, but it depends on what your definition of a book is,” Theisen says. “We had it translated and found out it is a receipt for the purchase of a goat.”

She says in the 1860s and 1870s, religious books and the classics printed with metal movable type in 2-point fonts called “fly’s eye type” became popular and were often given as gifts. They slipped into pockets easily and could be carried for inspiration.

A century later, printers like the Toppan company were competing for Guinness world records by producing even tinier books with even smaller fonts, Theisen says.

All of this fascinated the late Charlotte Smith, who turned to miniatures partly after running out of space for her collection of full-sized books. She explained her passion and even describes some of her favorite small books in her article titled “The Joys of Miniature Books.” She also started her own company to publish miniature books.

So how can the public examine this unique University of Iowa collection?

“Just walk in and ask,” Theisen says. “Or call ahead if you want me to put together some interesting samples for you or your group. These are here for the people of Iowa to examine and enjoy.”

Miniature Mondays

Each Monday, the Special Collections staff at the library provides updates on the miniature book collection at this Tumblr site.

Scroll down the page to view the excellent two-minute segment from NBC that aired in December. For more close-up photos of this collection, check out this Tumblr page.

Dick Hakes is a semiretired newspaper editor who lives in North Liberty.

