Detail map of 8, 2-chōme, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tōkyō-to, Japan Overview map of 8, 2-chōme, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tōkyō-to, Japan

A: 8, 2-chōme, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tōkyō-to, Japan

The 2013 Contender for the World's Smallest Printed Book

2013
Possibly the worlds smallest book: Shiki no Kusabana (Flowers of Seasons).

Possibly the worlds smallest book: Shiki no Kusabana (Flowers of Seasons).

With pages measuring 0.75 millimeters (0.03 inches), the 22-page micro-book, entitled Shiki no Kusabana (Flowers of Seasons), contains names and monochrome illustrations of Japanese flowers such as the cherry and the plum.

Toppan Printing, who have been producing micro books since 1964, used the same micro-engraving technology employed in the production of bank notes to prevent forgery to produce letters in Shiki no Kusabana just 0.01 mm. wide.

"The book is on display at Toppan's Printing Museum in Tokyo, and is on sale, together with a magnifying glass and a larger copy, for 29,400 yen (£205). Toppan said it would be applying to Guinness World Records to claim the title of world's smallest book, presently held by a 0.9 mm, 30-page Russian volume called Chameleon, created by Siberian craftsman Anatoliy Konenko in 1996." (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9927200/Is-this-the-worlds-smallest-book.html, accessed 05-01-2013).

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