Miniature books and their delicate appearance have bewitched painterNguyen Thanh Dam. He himself made some tiny, beautiful work of arts andalso collected them from far and wide.
The“Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam”, oneof the most precious books in painter Dam’s bookcase. It was eventaken into space by Hero Pham Tuan.
Dam made the bookhimself. He used “giấy dó” (rhamnoneuron paper), which istraditionally produced in many villages and famed for its durability.
Hesaid: “At that time, I worked at the Authority of Publication anddecided to make three books; the Declaration of Independence, Binh NgoDai Cao (Proclamation of Victory over Foreign Aggression) and Hich TuongSi (Proclamation to the Officers) - three declarations from differentperiods for Pham Tuan to bring with him into space.
“Nhat ky trong tu” (Prison Diary), printed by the Information PublishingHouse in 1989, is 5.5cm long, 5.5cm wide and 1.5cm thick. The 1989comic book “Sat That” by the Kim Dong Publishing House is 6cm wide,4.5cm long and 1cm thick. There are hundreds of Vietnamese and foreignbooks like these on his bookcase.
The “Manifesto ofthe Communist Party”, written by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels, holdsmany memories for the painter. The 340-page German book was printed in1978 and measures 3cm by 4cm. The book’s cover is adorned withintaglio-printed and gold-plated characters.
Damrecalled that he saw this book in a secondhand shop when he attended anexhibition in Germany in 1982. At the shop, they had a number ofbooks, but this one was unique and was not cheap. He used the money hehad saved to buy a quality German bicycle to buy this book instead.
According to UNESCO, a book that is less than 8cm inwidth is considered a miniature . There are hundreds of miniaturebooks on painter Dam’s shelves.
The painter said hehas collected miniature books for their compactness and delicateappearance, noting that these books take a high level of skill andeffort to make, so prices can be 10 times more than an ordinary book.
To preserve these works of art, he made aminiature bookcase too. His bookcase is a bank of knowledge and adestination for his soul mates.
One of his frienda, painterLuong Xuan Doan, said we can see the essence of human beings throughDam’s bookcase, especially of the miniature book makers.
As former Deputy Director of Department of Culture and Arts of theCentral Propaganda and Training Commission, Doan noted that theVietnamese publishing industry should work with this kind of book tomeet readers’ demands nowadays.
A number of people have offered to buy Dam’s books, but he refuses as they have been part of his life for 40 years.-VNA
The“Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam”, oneof the most precious books in painter Dam’s bookcase. It was eventaken into space by Hero Pham Tuan.
Dam made the bookhimself. He used “giấy dó” (rhamnoneuron paper), which istraditionally produced in many villages and famed for its durability.
Hesaid: “At that time, I worked at the Authority of Publication anddecided to make three books; the Declaration of Independence, Binh NgoDai Cao (Proclamation of Victory over Foreign Aggression) and Hich TuongSi (Proclamation to the Officers) - three declarations from differentperiods for Pham Tuan to bring with him into space.
“Nhat ky trong tu” (Prison Diary), printed by the Information PublishingHouse in 1989, is 5.5cm long, 5.5cm wide and 1.5cm thick. The 1989comic book “Sat That” by the Kim Dong Publishing House is 6cm wide,4.5cm long and 1cm thick. There are hundreds of Vietnamese and foreignbooks like these on his bookcase.
The “Manifesto ofthe Communist Party”, written by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels, holdsmany memories for the painter. The 340-page German book was printed in1978 and measures 3cm by 4cm. The book’s cover is adorned withintaglio-printed and gold-plated characters.
Damrecalled that he saw this book in a secondhand shop when he attended anexhibition in Germany in 1982. At the shop, they had a number ofbooks, but this one was unique and was not cheap. He used the money hehad saved to buy a quality German bicycle to buy this book instead.
According to UNESCO, a book that is less than 8cm inwidth is considered a miniature . There are hundreds of miniaturebooks on painter Dam’s shelves.
The painter said hehas collected miniature books for their compactness and delicateappearance, noting that these books take a high level of skill andeffort to make, so prices can be 10 times more than an ordinary book.
To preserve these works of art, he made aminiature bookcase too. His bookcase is a bank of knowledge and adestination for his soul mates.
One of his frienda, painterLuong Xuan Doan, said we can see the essence of human beings throughDam’s bookcase, especially of the miniature book makers.
As former Deputy Director of Department of Culture and Arts of theCentral Propaganda and Training Commission, Doan noted that theVietnamese publishing industry should work with this kind of book tomeet readers’ demands nowadays.
A number of people have offered to buy Dam’s books, but he refuses as they have been part of his life for 40 years.-VNA
