Burmese Fortune Teller's Book

Folded like a concertina, it opens onto a long stretch of paper.

This fortune teller’s book was made in Burma in the 19th century, in paper and pigment. Folding books of this kind are commonly associated with astrology, horoscopes and other records in the region. The pale, folded paper carries blocks of dense script in narrow columns. At the middle is a symmetrical diagram in black and brown, with small drawings near the top. The paper has toned to cream and ivory, with creases at each fold.

It unfolds to about 212 inches. Stand it up and it becomes a column.