Paper and Book Arts Museum displays unique artifacts

The Ege University Paper and Book Arts Museum in the Aegean province of İzmir, the first of its kind in Türkiye, is home to the world's smallest book, the lightest paper, and many other valuable national and international items displayed on its shelves.

"In our museum, we exhibit the world's smallest book, whose dimensions are 2.4 by 2.9 millimeters. It is so small that it can only be viewed with a magnifying glass," said Seda Ağırbaş, the university's faculty member and director of the museum.

The Paper and Book Arts Museum, which presents the long-term journey of paper and books, indispensable fixtures of the last 2000 years of world cultural history, and examples from different cultures, also hosts many scientific and cultural events throughout the year.

"The establishment of the Ege University Paper and Book Arts Museum, which opened in 2012, is of great importance as it is the first of its kind in Türkiye and as a university museum. The museum serves in the Ballian residence of the 19th century, one of the Levantine mansions, one of the cultural and artistic assets of the Ege University. Nearly 1,000 objects are exhibited in the museum, which also includes an art gallery. Examples from various stages, from the production of paper to the point where it turns into a work of art, are exhibited in the museum," she said.

"The ground floor has a handmade paper production demo room, organic writing materials, colored papers from the world, today's colored paper artists and modern paper art sections. On the upper floor, there are book arts, ex-libris, printing house, artist books, children's books, book formats, masters in books, printing techniques, miniature books and typography sections. In our museum, we exhibit the world's smallest...