5-millimeter tiny book fetches big price at auction

Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A tiny book measuring just 5 millimeters on each side surprised auctioneers in Brussels by selling for $4,739.11.

Arenberg Auctions said the book, which contains the Catholic Lord's Prayer printed in Dutch, English, American English, French, German, Spanish and Swedish, was one of a few hundred published by the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, Germany, in 1952 as a fundraising project to pay for post-war reconstruction efforts.

The book measures just 5 millimeters -- about .2 inch -- on each side.

The auction house said the book had been expected to sell for up to $1,700, but surprised auctioneers by fetching a high bid of $3,949.61. Additional costs brought the total price to $4,739.11.

"The printed text is so minuscule that you cannot read it with the naked eye, but need a strong magnifying glass," auctioneer Henri Godts told The Guardian.

The auction included the metal printing plates used to make the tome.

"The copy has been in a collection for dozens of years and is kept in a jewel box as if it were a gem. You could even incorporate it into a transparent jewel and wear it around your neck, if you so wish," Godts said.

The book came with the metal printing plates used to make it.