read [[Dan Allosso]] in Actual Books
Sometimes a physical copy of a book gives one information not contained in digital scans. Allosso provides the example of Charles Knowlton's book The Fruits of Philosophy which touched on abortion and was published as a tiny hand-held book which would have made it easy to pass from person to person more discretely for its time period.
James 11.Hanford, Malcolm McLeod, and E d g a r C. Knowlton, TheNelaon handbook of English, New York, 1931.
I can't help but wonder about a possible familial connection between Edgard C. Knowlton (1921 - 2016) and Charles Knowlton (1800 - 1850). Grandson perhaps?
http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n85319810/
cc: @danallosso
https://publish.obsidian.md/danallosso/Bloggish/Actual+Books
I've often heard the phrase, usually in historical settings, "little book" as well and presupposed it to be a diminutive describing the ideas. I appreciate that Dan Allosso points out here that the phrase may describe the book itself and that the fact that it's small means that it can be more easily carried and concealed.
There's also something much more heartwarming about a book as a concealed weapon (from an intellectual perspective) than a gun or knife.