Ruth E. Adomeit (January 30, 1910 – February 16, 1996) was an American writer, editor, collector of

miniature book A miniature book is a very small book. Standards for what may be termed a miniature rather than just a small book have changed through time. Today, most collectors consider a book to be miniature only if it is 3 inches or smaller in height, wid ...

s and philanthropist.

Life

Adomeit was educated at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial ...

, where she began her interest in miniature books after her father, George Adomeit, gave her two of the

Kingsport Press Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, wh ...

's miniature books by

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

and Calvin Coolidge. She edited ''The Miniature Book Collector'' from 1960 to 1962, and was a leading member of the Miniature Book Society. She was also a naturalist with a keen interest in

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

s and was a "Founder’s Circle member" of

Bat Conservation International Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an international nongovernmental organization working to conserve bats and their habitats through conservation, education, and research efforts. BCI was founded in 1982 by bat biologist Merlin Tuttle, w ...

Miniature book collection

After her father sparked her interest in miniature books Ruth started a collection that would be among the largest in the world. The books include miniature volumes by

and Calvin Coolidge, as well as miniature form record keeping of cuneiform tablets (2000 B.C.) to contemporary small press and artists' books.

Rare books

The collection includes many rare books such as ''From Morn Till Eve'', a miniature book that presents biblical quotations in a devotional form, with one phrase for each morning and evening of a month. The

Online Computer Library Center OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

(OCLC) had listed "the only known copy as being in the collection of famed miniature book collector Ruth E. Adomeit".

Lilly Library

Adomeit left her collection of miniature books to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, where it is housed in the

Lilly Library The Lilly Library, located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is an important rare book and manuscript library in the United States. At its dedication on October 3, 1960, the library contained a collection of 20,000 boo ...

. She also left historical papers, the "Ruth E. Adomeit papers, 1907-1958" concerning her father, and the "George G. Adomeit papers, 1880-1968" to the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

Works

*''Three Centuries of Thumb Bibles: a Checklist'', New York: Garland Pub., 1980. "It remains the standard reference book on the subject, essential to any scholar or collector in the field." *Foreword, in

Whitney Balliett Whitney Lyon Balliett (17 April 1926 – 1 February 2007) was a jazz critic and book reviewer for ''The New Yorker'' and was with the journal from 1954 until 2001. Biography Born in Manhattan and raised in Glen Cove, Long Island, Balliett a ...

, ''Duke Ellington Remembered: New York notes'', Newport Beach, CA: Gold Stein Press, 1981. A short essay in memory of Achille J. St. Onge (Worcester, MA; 1935-1977).University of Iowa miniature book collection
Retrieved 2012-01-08

References

External links

Ruth E. Adomeit
at Heifer International Foundation book of remembrance {{DEFAULTSORT:Adomeit, Ruth E. 1910 births 1996 deaths American book and manuscript collectors Women collectors Lilly Library American women philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists Wellesley College alumni American people of German descent 20th-century women philanthropists