Baku Museum of Miniature Books

The Museum of Miniature Books in Baku is a unique phenomenon not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the whole world. The only one of its kind, it grew out of the private collection of Zarifa Salakhova, known not only as the founder of the museum, but also as the sister of the famous Azerbaijani artist Tahir Salakhov. She collected small books all over the world for about thirty years. Zarifa Salahova’s collection currently includes more than 6,500 books from around the world, from at least 64 different countries.

The museum was opened in 2002 in the old part of Baku. Among the exhibits are many ancient samples published in the Russian Empire, as well as many books of the Soviet period. Zarifa Salakhova also managed to get rare editions of classics for her museum: Gogol and Cannon, Dostoevsky and Chukovsky, Agnia Barto, as well as many Azerbaijani pillars of literature. Among the local authors, the museum exhibits works by Fizuli, Vagif, Nizami Ganjavi, Nasimi, Samed Vurgun and many other classics known far beyond the country.