Kim O'Donnell

Frances Perkins Scholar Creates Smallest Book in the World
College Street Journal, May 5, 2000

Long before Kim O'Donnell FP became a Frances Perkins Scholar at MHC, she had honed her skills as a professional fine press bookbinder. For fifteen years she labored at the intricate art of assembling books. Working with printed sheets of fine, sometimes handmade, paper and designing leather or paper jackets and bindings, she spent long hours gluing, sewing, and pressing volumes of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to create beautiful rare editions--and all by hand. Whether the book blocks were large or small, the craftsmanship involved something she was particularly good at--patience and that dexterous dance of the fingers.

But the demands for dexterity and devotion would take on completely new dimensions when O'Donnell decided to immerse herself in the "even smaller" world of fine press publishing. A text deemed "the smallest in the world" had sold at auction in The Hague in the late '80s, and O'Donnell's brother-in-law was intrigued by the news. He called O'Donnell with a challenge: "Do one smaller." Which meant roughly the size of a thumb nail. O'Donnell found the prospect enticing. Accepting her brother-in-law's offer of original text, she settled down to work out the diminutive proportions, producing, in 1995, an extraordinarily miniature Rumor Press title, twelve editions of which have already sold for $325 apiece. The full edition, still in progress, numbers fifty.

Remarkable in its Lilliputian detail, Grail Field Notes, written by Robert Slocum, measures a half inch by five-sixteenths inch and is bound in Moroccan goatskin. The purple jacket is goldembossed with leather hinges and has hand-decorated doublures. Its handmade paper is sewn on cords and laced into the covers with handsewn silk headbands. Printed from one engraving plate approximately seven by four inches, with an average of twelve words per page, the lyrical narrative provides instructions for anyone striking out on a quest for the Holy Grail. Three color illustrations of helmets by artist Michael Kuch are included in the 48-page quarter-inch-thick text.

Kim O'Donnell with smallest book in the world"It has features you won't find normally in a miniature," says O'Donnell. The title page, for example, is letter-press printed in two colors, and the end-paper is hand marbled. For all its delicate features, the book is notably sturdy and remarkably pliant. "Part of the intent in creating this book was to make it readable--ergonomic," says O'Donnell, who is soft-spoken and humble about her achievement. "My feeling about books is they can be beautiful, but they're utilitarian--to be read and touched." The book comes in a custom-made two-inch box.

While O'Donnell is still completing the edition, she has otherwise left her bookbinding career behind--one of several diverse pursuits in a past that included motorcycle-parts sales as well. (She has even drag raced a few times.) Her multiple talents extend to graphic and digital art, and she also plays and makes African drums and teaches the craft in folk workshops. In addition to being a full-time student, wife, and mother, she works in laser welding for a company that produces medical devices, and hopes eventually to work in product development.

-- Photographs by Fred Leblanc