STEPPING into Zarifa Salahova’s world of miniature books brings back memories of the wee gold locket-shaped book I received as a gift, that my mother would put around my neck on special occasions. More than the locket itself, I was fascinated by the miniature Quran that was inside the gold casing. With aplomb, I’d release the mini-clasp, slide out the precious book, and let my equally fascinated friends hold it for a bit.

Wind your way through the labyrinth of cobbled alleys in Baku’s old city (called Icheri Sheher), nestled close to the 15th century Shirvanshah’s Palace, and you find the world’s first and only private miniature book museum housing Salahova’s private collection. There are over 5,500 books from 76 countries, housed in 39 glass cases. (The city of Gorlovko, in the Ukraine, also displays some 7,000 miniature books; this is the collection of Venyamin Alexandrovich Razumov, displayed since his death in 2001.)

Miniature books became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe; today there are several such book clubs, including the Miniature Book Society that was founded in 1982 and held its 35th annual conclave this year in August, in Oakland, with not just bibliophiles in attendance but also publishers, printers, writers, artists, and booksellers.

Salahova’s tiny tomes include three Japanese books not more that 2mm x 2mm, titled the Language of Flowers, Birthstone, and The Signs of the Zodiac by the Toppan Publishing House. The text can be read with a magnifying glass. The oldest is a 17th century Quran. Other early miniatures include The History of England, published in London in 1815, and five volumes of The Adventure of Young Lavilas in Greece, published in 1817.

The smallest book (3mmx9mm) is from the former USSR. The Most Miraculous Thing (Moscow, 1985) includes selections from the works of Alexander Pushkin (poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era also considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet) and Maxim Gorky (author and political activist). In addition, there are two separate showcases that display more than 320 books about Pushkin and his works. The museum also has collections by British and American authors such as Shakespeare, Bobby Burns, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, Edgar Allan Poe and Hemingway. An avid reader before she became a publisher, Salahova became a miniature book enthusiast and subsequently a collector after she found a miniature collection of Shakespeare in a curio shop in London.

Among the miniature books she has published are a limited edition of some 500 books of The Inaugural Speech of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic when former president Heydar Aliyev took office on Oct 10, 1993, at the Republic Palace. She also published the new constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan commemorating its ratification in parliament in late 1995. “But, she’s also published books on art and music,” adds Leyla Ileskarova, the granddaughter of Salahova who has recently joined the museum and is still learning the ropes of curating.

The museum has 15 sections. These include Azerbaijani authors; Oldest; Smallest; Children’s; Soviet era; Pushkin; Baltic countries; Central Asia and International.

“The cut-off for books is 10cm x 10cm and must have been published in the country of origin for us to exhibit it,” explains Natali Necolaiyama, who has been working in the museum for nine years and knows the story of how each and every book was acquired. With a few exceptions, most of the books have been gifted to Salahova.

“These are real books with real information, just like their normal-sized counterparts,” explains Ileskarova, emphasising that the collection is a serious one and not just her grandmother’s fancy for things small and cute. Many are hardbound, while some old ones are encased in leather, wood and silver boxes with clasps. Some books came with bookmarks and others with a mini magnifying glass.

Every now and then, a celebrity visits the museum. “Yesterday, the Thai princess came and gifted us with 38 books,” Ileskarova tells me, adding: “These have all gone to experts to be documented [which involves a bit of translation to know what the book is about, the size, the number of pages, etc] before they can be displayed.” In the past, Russian president Boris Yeltsin and former Azerbaijan president Heydar Aliyev have also visited the place.

“When our former president learned about my grandmother’s collection, he offered that she select a place of her choice in the old city to display it. That is how she was able to set up this museum,” says Ileskarova.

All the showcases boast the flag of every country from which a book is exhibited; Pakistan’s flag is missing as is that of India (although the museum bought the Bhagavad Gita to complete its collection of religious books), which is a pity since both South Asian countries have such rich literature.

Every three to four months, Necolaiyama gets to the task of cleaning the showcases along with Ileskarova’s mother; it takes the two women between three to four days to dust the books and put them back in the same place. The museum opened its doors on April 23, 2002, on International Books and Copyrights Day. Since then, nearly 350,000 people have visited the museum.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017