The connoisseur of small things

Miniature Bibles sit alongside Nazi propaganda booklets in this exceptional collection

Minuscule The oldest book in Mohanty’s collection dates to the 16th century.

In 2002, in Chennai, Siddhartha Mohanty had found a miniature Bhagavad Gita that piqued his interest. The production quality of the book was impressive. Mohanty, based in Bhubaneswar, has been collecting miniature books ever since. He now has the largest collection of miniature books in English in Asia and features in the list of the the most well-known private miniature collectors of the world.

Mohanty has nearly 4,000 miniature books from more than 40 countries. These books are not more than three inches in height, width and thickness. The first miniature copies to be printed in Europe were prayer books. They were produced in the Middle Ages: the size meant they could be concealed from prying eyes. The oldest book in Mohanty’s collection dates back to the 16th century.

Bard in a pocket

Mohanty also collects rare miniature books in Latin and books about India in any language. He has more than 100 miniature Gitas in 30 different languages, apart from books on Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. A 22-volume set of the works of Tagore in Hungarian is one of his prized possessions. Mohanty’s collection includes more than 200 miniature Bibles and books on Christianity, some of which come with matching miniature stands; about 60 miniature Qurans from all over the world; miniature antique editions of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; more than 800 editions of Shakespeare’s plays, including sets with miniature bookshelves and revolving cases; the

Kama Sutra in eight languages; about 300 dictionaries and gazettes: more than 100 miniature almanacs and calendars, some dating back to 1620; atlases and illustrated children’s books and comics.

Then there are 28 of the total 32 known miniature propaganda booklets the Nazi Party used in the period leading up to and during the Hitler years.

Sourcing the books has not been easy. “It requires a lot of research and patience, and I have acquired many rare books — some with great difficulty and some by chance,” he says. While most of the antique books have been acquired through auctions, some have come from booksellers.

Miniature Jagannath

An old book publisher Mohanty has been dealing with for quite some time is David Bryce & Son, Glasgow, which made finely crafted miniatures and micro-miniatures between 1890 and 1910, some accompanied by metal holders and magnifiers. Mohanty’s collection includes two different editions of the Khordeh Avesta , the Zoroastrians’ book of daily prayers, in Gujarati — “probably among the rarest of the Bryce religious miniatures”.

After the collection comes the preservation of the rare books, which is almost as difficult. Mohanty gets his archival and conservation material from the U.S. and Europe. “Most of these books are delicate, with weak spines and damaged leather covers. They should not be handled frequently and protected from moisture and extreme temperatures,” he says.

The sole member from India of the U.S.-based Miniature Book Society, Mohanty has printed from Germany a 467-page miniature book on Lord Jagannath in English. He is currently researching vintage miniature books and scriptures in different Indian languages. Plans to set up a miniature books museum in Bhubaneswar are up his sleeves. Fingers crossed for that.