Exhibited the smallest book in Scotland

Old King Cole, seen here next to the coin, is the world's smallest printed book

A book whose size is no larger than a grain of rice on display in the exhibition of miniature books in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Book called Old King Cole was published in 1985 by the Gleniffer Pressdan measuring only 0.9 mm high.

This book holds the record as the world's smallest book ever printed for twenty years.

In this exhibition there are about 85 miniature books from the collections that will be shown to the public for free until November 17.

Exhibition curator James Mitchell said: "Many of them are works of art or technological wonders and has very high collection value."

A miniature book ecara s generally defined as a book with a height and width of less than 7.5 cm.

Miniature book that was first recorded was 'officium Beatae Virginis Maria' (5.2 cm x 4.5 cm) printed in 1475.

High skills

Scotland known expert printing miniature books.

Scotland has become an important center of production of miniature books since the 19th century.

From the 1870s until World War I, the Glasgow-based company David Bryce & Son became one of the most successful publisher of miniature books in the world.

At the beginning of his career, Bryce produce full edition, by Robert Burns that only sold 5,000 copies in three years. He then reformat the mold into two miniature books and shortly thereafter sold more than 100,000 copies.

At the end of the 20th century, Gleniffer Press continued the tradition of producing miniature books in ClickScotland .

Printing was founded in 1967 by Helen and Ian Macdonald as a personal hobby of printing, producing stationery for home and office.

In the early 1970s, the company is famous all over the world to create miniature books and active in this field until 2007. When closed after 40 years of operation, the company has scored 57 book with a different title.

Mitchell said: "This exhibition celebrates the miniature books and contributions that have been made in Scotland in a publishing world that desperately needs high skills."