Miniatures

The human race has always hankered after extremes. In the same way that it has tried to climb the highest mountain, explore the profoundest depths of the ocean, reach into outer space, build the biggest and tallest buildings, it has always been enthralled by the smallest.Flea circuses, the amoebae visible only under a microscope, the Lord’s Prayer written in the smallest book of 2mm squared, doll’s houses with their tiny furniture, Baxter’s needle prints and miniature portraits and sculptures are witnesses to this interest in and love of the miniature.In this small world, books occupy a place of honor. They join to the great skill lavished on their creation the crowning glory of man’s spirit enshrined in their text. Miniature books are creations of beauty and wonder and are now both rare and valuable. But why bother when the same text in a larger version can be found for a fraction of the price?For those of us who have been bitten by the bug (I have a collection of miniature books running into the hundreds), the answer is easy.The first advantage is portability. The works of a beloved poet, the text of a play you are going to see at the theatre, classical texts for study, scientific or technological works needed for research, religious works like the bible, prayer or hymn books, for devotion. I have used all these at different times and when I went to a conversational German class, they all sat there with a desk covered in several large books and were all amused when I produced from my pocket two miniature German/English books and proceeded to use them.In addition, such miniature books take up very little space in a small house or flat. My whole set of Shakespeare is housed in a bookcase of 6 square inches.Equally important is the fact that the production of the small books taxed craftspeople to the extreme and compelled them to produce individual letters, the finest tooled leather bindings and exquisite illustrations.
So, definitely for me, ‘small is beautiful’ and ‘good things come in small packages’. In honor of my love of miniature things I have written the following poem;
The art of small things
As the doll turns the page,
don’t offend the book, or its age
by saying it could be opened faster
if it were bigger, vaster
than the whole library he’s sitting with.
This is all part of the myth
that bigger is better – or another,
that life is ruled by Big Brother
watching you. Mass media’s laced
with this hype and it can be traced
back to ‘size matters’ – it’s implicit;
you don’t have to listen for it.
A strong magnifying- glass
will show the miniature’s class.
When you fix it in your view,
the truth that hides becomes visible to you.

Thanks for reading, David Wilkinson
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