Holy Bible containing Old and New testaments: Translated Out Of The Original Tongues. Glasgow: David Bryce And Son. London: Henry Frowde. Oxford University Press Warehouse, Amen Corner. 1901. 2nd Edition. 876 printed pages. Printed in two columns. With frontispiece & 27 engraved plates from drawings by Charles Bell Birch. The title bears the words "Printed by Authority"; and on verso is a copy of the licence granted to D. Bryce to publish this edition dated 1901, an edition of 100,000 copies. Printed upon the very thinnest Oxford India Paper ever made, and with twenty-eight full-page illustrations of biblical scenes by C. B. Birch, A.R.A. Complete with uncommon original box. Printed label, 'Smallest Bible in the World. Complete and Illustrated' (slightly chipped; box corners split; residue of tape around edges). All edges yellow.Original black glossy endpapers. 30 x 46 mm. Original red roan with gilt 'Holy Bible' in circle on spine. Original gold-laquered Jahncke's Patent tin with Prince of Wales feathers and Thistles (exterior gilt layer rubbed away in spots), upper cover with removable inlaid red cloth surrounding a central magnifying glass loop (very slight wear).David Bryce & Sons of Glasgow was active around the turn of the 19th century; & took an active interest in the latest technological advances in photolithography and electroplates to allow larger volumes to be reduced to the smallest imaginable size. The result is that their miniature publications are prized for the clarity and legibility of their texts. With the aid of Glasgow University Press, the firm issued the earliest complete miniature Bible in 1896, at the time the smallest complete bible ever printed; it comprised 876 pages printed on the finest India paper, measuring just over 1 inch square and was a reduced facsimile of the Oxford sextodecimo edition. David Bryce produced these tiny Bibles and many were presented to serving soldiers throughout the British Empire, easily carried on campaigns, including The Boer War which was being waged at that time with many later carried by soldiers in the First World War. They also published a 1901 reprint and also issued it in a specific binding as a souvenir of the Glasgow International Exhibition at Kelvingrove. All copies were sold with a small magnifying glass. Bondy, 108. Spielmann, 24. Welsh, 562. A scarce little marvel of bookmaking. WorldCat lists seven UK institutional library holders. 162 firsts2024