Miniature Books

The Format and Function of Tiny Religious Texts

edited by Kristina Myrvold and Dorina Miller Parmenter

Book cover: Miniature Books

Paperback (Published)

(October 2019)

ISBN: 9781781798614

6.1 x 9.17 inches

Price: $35.00

In stock

Hardback (Published)

(October 2019)

ISBN: 9781781798607

6.1 x 9.17 inches

Price: $100.00

Out of stock

Miniature books, handwritten or printed books in the smallest format, have fascinated religious people, printers, publishers, collectors, and others through the centuries because of their unique physical features, and continue to captivate people today. The small lettering and the delicate pages, binding, and covers highlight the material form of texts and invite sensory engagement and appreciation. This volume addresses miniature books with a special focus on religious books in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The book presents various empirical contexts for how the smallest books have been produced, distributed, and used in different times and cultures and also provides theoretical reflections and comments that discuss the divergent formats and functions of books.


Miniature books, handwritten or printed books in the smallest format, have fascinated religious people, printers, publishers, collectors, and others through the centuries because of their unique physical features, and continue to captivate people today. The small lettering and the delicate pages, binding, and covers highlight the material form of texts and invite sensory engagement and appreciation. This volume addresses miniature books with a special focus on religious books in Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The book presents various empirical contexts for how the smallest books have been produced, distributed, and used in different times and cultures and also provides theoretical reflections and comments that discuss the divergent formats and functions of books.

Religious Miniature Books: Introduction and Overview Kristina Myrvold, Dorina Miller Parmenter Ritualizing the Size of Books James W. Watts On the Functions of Miniaturizing Books in Jewish Religion Marianne Schleicher Words in a Nutshell: Miniaturizing Texts in Early Modern England Lucy Razzall Small Things of Greatest Consequence: Miniature Bibles in America Dorina Miller Parmenter Diminutive Divination and the Implications of Scale: A Miniature Quranic Falnama of the Safavid Period Heather Coffey Mite Qurans for Indian Markets: David Bryce in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Kristina Myrvold Miniature Qurans in the First World War: Religious Comforts for Indian Muslim Soldiers Kristina Myrvold, Andreas Johansson Size Matters! Miniature Mushafs and the Landscape of Affordances Jonas Svensson Gitamahatmya! Paratexts in Miniature Bhagavad Gitas with Special Reference to Pictures and Gender Jon Skarpeid Sutras Working in Buddha's Belly and Buddhists' Pockets: Miniature Sutras in Korean Buddhism Yohan Yoo, Woncheol Yun

  • Edited by Kristina Myrvold

"For those readers looking into the history of the tiny volumes for the first time wondering why miniaturise, Miniature Books presents multiple, eloquent answers, while also offering intriguing new perspectives for an audience already well-versed in the subject." Ricciardi, Annalisa, Anthropos, 116.2021