The 'hot' collectible books?  Antique Miniatures!

 The 53rd Annual Antique Book Fair was held in New York
City this past Spring and 'minis' were all the rage.

Link

The most highly collectible of the genre
date back to the 16th century.

 A quarter is pictured to show the scale of
these prized jewels of the book world.

Complete sets garner the highest prices.  Pictured
are 15 volumes of William Shakespeare plays.   

The sophisticated traveler of the 19th century didn't
leave home without their satchel of miniature books:

 Miniatures in their original cases are highly
prized by the discerning collector.

A magnifying glass is cleverly inserted
into the tin cover of this mini-dictionary.

The illustrations of tiny treasures rival the
beauty of their 'regular sized' cousins.

Antique Prayer Books

Due to the fragile nature of their components and because they were
well used, few antique miniature bibles or prayer books exist today.

I wish the photographer had placed a quarter beside this historic
micro-book for scale.  It's actually a little larger than a quarter.

Created in 1675, the tiny tome is referred to as 'the little Antoni prayer
book.'  Bound in sterling silver, it contains spiritual devotions for
reflection and consolation.

You would need good eyesight to read this tiny Bible.
This case was converted into a pendant for easy access.



Jewelers in the 19th and early 20th centuries copied the
designs of little books when creating unique lockets.
These are made from sterling silver and 18 kt gold.

Tip:  One collector of miniature antique books stated
that she found several at a doll house dealer's booth.

If you know a young person who is interested in starting a collection
that doesn't take up much space encourage them to consider miniature
books.  They're the darlings of the Bibliophilia world.