Miniature Books: The Stephen and Sandra Joffe Collection

This catalogue gives detailed description of 220 miniature books divided into eight sections located in the library of Dunderave Castle in Scotland. The three major sections include Rare Books, Almanacs and Thumb Bibles followed by five minor sections which include Prayer Books, the Koran with other works from 18th, 19th Centuries, post 1900 and Objets d’Art. The collection at Dunderave Castle consists of two collections purchased at auction. The initial was from the Dutch book dealer Nico Israel and his wife Nanni collected over their lifetime from important collections such as the Houghton sale in 1979 and include the earliest published miniature the Kalendarium of 1570 by Plantin. The other titles purchased from Mr. and Mrs. John Gutfreund from New York included several books from the Salomon collection. Following the introduction, a detailed description is given of the books with photographic images taken by Iain McLean and John Linton. Miniature books are defined as 3 inches (77cm) or less in height but for books printed in 19th Century or earlier it can be extended to 4 inches. The Israel collection was housed in a Miniature revolving bookcase, a bureau cabinet and a pedestal bookcase.