The unique architectural marvel at Windsor Castle is not a structural part of the building itself, or even a full-scale feature. Here you’ll find Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, widely considered the largest and most famous dolls’ house in the world. The house was designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and built between 1921 and 1924, with objects and furniture designed by hundreds of leading craftsmen and craftsmen of the time.
Queen Mary, King George V’s wife from 1910 to 1936, was a lover of all things miniature. Her doll’s house library even contains nearly 600 scale versions of real books, including works by literary giants such as AA Milne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Many of the books, commissioned by publishers across the UK and further afield, are also in the V&A’s collection and have been on long-term loan since 1916.
A recent video produced by the museum offers a glimpse into some of these tiny treasures, under the expert guidance of Amy McMullan, assistant director of the National Library of Arts, and Catherine Yvard, curator of collections at the National Library of Arts. For example, there is a red leather-bound Bible published by David Bryce & Son of Glasgow in 1896, as well as the Qur’an, a collection of poems by Robert Burns, etc.
The National Art Library, located within the V&A, holds over 1 million publications related to art, design and performance, forming an archive from the 8th century to the present day.
In addition to Queen Mary’s collection, the museum also contains many miniature books. A small almanac in handsome facing pages is published each year and includes noteworthy dates such as sunrise and sunset times, holidays and other practical information. Many pieces feature gilded edges, marbled paper, and even metal boxes that double as lockets for easy wear.
The collection includes small dictionaries, memorabilia from the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park of 1851, and children’s books, including some tunnel books or paper dioramas. These accordion-style tomes look like any other publication at first glance, but they extend into long tunnels through which the viewer sees layered three-dimensional scenes.
The oldest item in the V&A’s collection is a silver-bound miniature French prayer book from the early 1700s, decorated with the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The smallest is properly called The smallest book in the world, Published in 2002, measures 2.4 x 2.9 mm. It was designed by a German printer and was very small, and came with a small booklet showing what you would see if you leafed through the book. As McMullen explains, the book’s physical size raises an interesting question: “If you can’t read it, is it really a book?”
Visitors are welcome to peruse the online catalog and interact with the collection in person in the reading room of the V&A East Warehouse. Explore more on the museum’s YouTube channel.
