Antique miniature books command mammoth prices

They are pint-sized but have the most profound words of wisdom printed on them, and command even more mammoth prices! These are antique miniature books, prized for their worth and value among the staunch book collector.

To be sold at an auction after they were discovered in a house clearance – include The Bible and the London Almanack from 1842, with the smallest book measuring just 11/8in by 1in and the largest 31/8in by 31/8in.

In 1475 the first, tiny version of religious text the Officium Beatae Virginis Maria, was produced, and since then it became fashionable to own these prized ‘liliput’ versions of knowledge among the upper echelons of society. A sign of the printer’s skill to downsize big texts, these miniature versions always included every word that the original and bigger versions had.

Finely detailed and skillfully prepared, the recently discovered books, are expected to fetch a total of more than £2,000 when they go on sale next week.

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“You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy.” — Garth Brooks

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