The diminutive documents range in size, from a book that would fit snugly in hand to something smaller than a paperclip. Several of the books are so minute that you would need a magnifying glass to actually read them, according to David Bindle, Special Collections librarian at USask.
The collection includes a Bible so small that it comes in a metal case which has a built-in magnifying glass to help the reader see the print. The book, which Bindle said was published in 1901, is almost completely illegible without the glass, but helps tell a story beyond the words in its pages.
“This piece is an example of an early experimentation in photolithographic reduction, a process in which the publishers were able to take a regular-sized printed book and shrink the print down to miniscule proportions through an optical system,” said Bindle.
Read more at USask news.