£82,000 miniature books sale

A collection of more than 200 miniature books published in Glasgow more than a century ago has fetched over £82,000 at auction.

The remarkable books were published by David Bryce & Son of Glasgow, one of the world’s most prolific makers of miniature books. They ranged from Bryce’s Thumb Dictionary to colourfully illustrated children’s books and the complete works of poetry by Robert Burns.

The collection, put together over a lifetime by a dedicated collector and still in good condition, was expected to fetch £20,00030,000 when it went under the hammer for the first time at Bonhams’ Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale in London.

Lorenza Gay, Bonhams’ cataloguer of books and manuscripts, said: “Bryce used new technology to reduce the photoplates and took full advantage to make them as small as he could, eventually publishing over 40 different titles, which have become highly collectable.