The University of Iowa library contains over 4,000 books that can fit into one’s palm. One book, however, has come to the attention of The Atlantic. This pea-sized volume measures a mere 0.138 inches square and 0.04 inches thick, so tiny it cannot be read with the naked eye. Recently library staff put the miniature book under a microscope to discover more about it. They learned that it contained the first chapter of Genesis from the King James version of the Bible and originated at the World’s Fair in New York in 1965.
[I]t’s not as though people need a reason to make a book so tiny it can’t properly function as a book, at least not in the normal sense of a book as something you read. “People have loved miniature books for a long, long time,” Theisen told me. In fact, the library recently acquired one from the 15th century — the earliest days of European printing. And what’s not to love? “They’re cute; they’re adorable; there’s just something enchanting about something so small.”
For the original article, visit The Atlantic.
