Can anyone explain the story of these little books?

[ayashe]

I acquired these from my grandmother. They are Shakespeare's Plays, all in TINY print! They are just adorable. I didn't take the photos with a coin for size reference, sorry, but you can see my thumbnail in one photo. They measure about 2 1/2" (H) by 2" (W). Most are dated 1905 & 1906 and are all leather-bound. Some are worse for wear. I don't know if the stand is original.

As a child, I remember asking my grandmother what they were for, and she said that if you went to the hairdresser's for instance, they might reward you by giving you one little book on each visit, so you would eventually accumulate the entire collection. I don't know if that's true, she might've just told me that to shut me up! They make me think of catalogue collecting, as you would with plates, spoons, etc. Perhaps this is just an older version? Has anyone else come across these? I've tried to find info on the net but haven't had much luck.

[regularjoe2]

Are any of them illustrated , ayashe ?

You can find a bit of history about 'thumb books' on-line at :
americanantiquarian .org/minibooks.htm

[luxetveritas]

Wow, neat collection Ayashe! I love antique books, especially classics and history. Last night I actually got a little to carried away in my interests and starting searching eBay for antique books. I bought a new bookcase, and I wanted to fill it with a nice big collection of antique books! Surprisingly, you can get books from the early 19th century for under $15! Can you believe that! And not like completely "destroyed" books either, nicer quality.

Haha, back to your books   I really know very little about these, but if your grandmother's story about going to the hairdresser's and collecting them is true, which wouldn't surprise me, then I think the stand probably wasn't given with the books. Now, there are several different thoughts I have when seeing how perfect the books fit:
a.) maybe the stand is for them, who knows- certainly not me
b.) there may have been more of them that couldn't fit in the stand and were put in a box somewhere (I think this because there are the exact number to completely and solidly fill the stand without any room to spare)
c.) um... did I have a c? Can't remember  

Not much of a help here, but maybe that will spark some more intelligent thought from other members. Maybe those who are really old will even remember Jk.

[KC]

Anthony Treherne (a London printer) also published a set of forty miniature Shakespeare editions.  Three Rubaiyats were published between 1903 and 1906. One of them also bore the imprint of Treherne & Clafin. Treherne’s minibooks were published in the USA under the imprint of Henry Altemus Company, Philadelphia. Treherne went bankrupt at the end of 1906 due to publishing becoming more popular and more companies were out there competing.

You have a Rubiayat - which is compilation album and in your case is of Shakespeare (Thus yours is called a  Rubiayat of Shakespeare).  These are harder to find than a single book - thus making yours more valuable.

FYI....there is one book for sale at Ruby Lane that is a thumb book (sometimes referred to midget classics) and is also published by Anthony Treheme & Co http://www.rubylane.com/shops/virtu-doll/item/Rbook609

[talesofthesevenseas]

Neat books! I love the old ones I have that are children's/young adult books that were handed down from my mother, but they were old when she got them. Just to get a ball park did you try searching for them on Abe Books to make a comparison?