When you hold a miniature book in your hand, it is like holding a jewel. A miniature book is usually no bigger than three inches (76 millimeters) tall, and although some need magnification to be viewed properly, most can be read with the naked eye. Dating as far back as 2500 BCE, Sumerian clay tablets with cuneiform writing are considered the prototype for miniature books ...
Read more about Miniature Books
Our miniature books are listed below. You may also browse our miniature books by publisher or by century.
Japan: Miyako Akai, 2008. (62)pp. From an edition of 100 copies, this is one of 90 regular copies. An original story about a winter trip written in Japanese by Miyako Akai, who also designed the book, with editing and translation into English by Larry Seidman. Circles have been cut out... More
(Tarzana, CA: Raheb, Barbara J. 1981). (32)pp. Revised edition. One of 300 copies, signed and numbered by Barbara Raheb. Illustrated throughout in black & white. Gilt on spine lightly rubbed, else fine in gilt-stamped blue pyroxylin. Bookplate to front paste-down. (Bradbury, p. 210). (15/16 by 3/4; 25x18mm). More
(Van Nuys, CA): Raheb, Barbara J. 1984. Two volumes, housed in a tiny wooden box with a sliding lid. On the lid is a pictorial printed label. The two volumes are: The Sugar Plum Tree. Poems by Eugene Field. (16)ff. From an edition of 300 copies, this is one of... More
N.P. Miniature Book Society, 1988. Fine in printed wrappers. (2 7/8 by 2 7/8; 73x73mm). More
Morrow Bay, CA: Tabula Rasa Press, 1983. 41pp. One of 350 copies signed by the publisher, John Lathourakis. A humorous telling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, written using phonetically similar words. Illustrated throughout in red by Robert Rosenthal. With the miniature bookplate of the author Elenore Chaya. (Bradbury 44). (2 1/8 by 2; 55x50mm). More
(Tarzana, CA): Raheb, Barbara J. 1984. (28)pp. One of 300 copies signed by Barbara Raheb, who calligraphed and illustrated the text of what was a medieval illuminated manuscript. The borders of each page are colored gold. Bound in gilt-decorated black pyroxylin leather, with title in gilt to a red morocco... More
Richmond: Attic Press, 1975. (20)pp. One of 60 copies signed and numbered by Willis Shell, the proprietor of the Press. The first edition of the first miniature book produced at the Attic Press. Handsomely printed with Gothic initials, this amusing poem is illustrated throughout with hand-colored line drawings by Eleanor... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co. 1863. 61pp. From the second of six sets of miniature books for children published by Breed, Butler, and Co. in the 1860s. Each set, smaller than the last, comprises six volumes bound in colorful embossed and gilt-stamped cloth. The stories are all written by... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co. 1863. 61pp. A grandmother tells her grandson the story of a vain little girl in order to comfort him after an accident. Bound in gilt-decorated purple cloth. Covers faded and slightly rubbed, else a fine copy. A.e.g. With the signature of a youthful owner... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co. 1862. 64pp. Well-known Bible stories retold for children by popular children's writer Barrow under the nom de plume Aunt Laura. This title is part of the Aunt Laura series of moral-instruction books, noted by Bradbury as "high spots in any miniature book collection." Bound... More
(Berkeley): Poole Press, 1983. Of an edition of 100 copies, this is one of 25 lettered copies printed on handmade Japanese Kitikaka paper and specially bound. Signed on colophon by the printer/illustrator, Maryline Poole Adams. Illustrated throughout with full-page hand-colored linoleum cuts depicting young Sambo's encounter with the tigers deep... More
London: Bertram Rota, 1987. Octavo. 283pp., + (28)pp. of illustrations in both color and black & white. One of 400 copies. Barker's investigation of the Frederic Prokosch forgeries. In black, cloth-backed boards. Gilt-titled to spine. A little bit of dust and wear, else a fine copy. More
Danbury, CT: 1889. 16pp. A miniature book illustrated with cartoonish vignettes throughout. The autobiography of this famous circus man, written in a humorous style and dedicated to "the Bearded Lady and her hairs forever." Fine in printed wrappers. (2 3/16 by 1 3/4; 55x45mm). (Welsh 405). More
(Tempe, AZ): Kelly M. Houle, 2008. (1)ff., accordionfold. One of thirty copies, signed by the artist, Kelly M. Houle. The book is comprised of a fold-out illustration of a banana plant, printed in black on yellow parchment-textured paper. Below the illustration is a haiku by the seventeenth-century Japanese poet Matsuo... More
Worcester, Mass. Achille J. St. Onge, 1976. 63pp. One of 1,000 copies. A collection of epigrams in tribute to the author's home, Aspen, Colorado. Printed in blue and bound in full blue calf with silver titling, the book was designed "to remind the reader of the essence of winter time... More
Belfast, ME: Borrower's Press, 1985. 48pp. One of 175 copies signed and numbered by the printer, Jane Bernier. Like all Borrower's Press books, this is printed by hand on rag paper. With thirty-two pages of hand-colored illustrations of various stitches. Fine in gilt-decorated red leather. (Bradbury, p. 35). (3/4 by 5/8; 20x15mm). More
Winterport, ME: Borrower's Press, 1981. 53pp. One of 350 copies signed and numbered by Jane Bernier, the proprietor of the Press. With nineteen full-page hand-colored illustrations of sample quilt patterns. Bound in blue cloth with a hand-colored pictorial label. Labels show the slightest amount of wear, else fine. Bookplate to... More
Winterport, ME: Borrower's Press, 1977. (36)pp. One of 250 copies signed and numbered by the publisher, Jane Bernier. With eighteen hand-colored illustrations of wildflowers by Jane Conneen. Bookplate to front paste-down and small repair to head of spine, else near fine in gilt-stamped red leather. A hard-to-find early Borrower's Press... More
Belfast, ME: Borrower's Press, 1986. 40pp. One of 150 copies signed and numbered by Jane Bernier, the printer. With original illustrations by Amanda Epstein, which have been hand-colored. Very fine in gilt-decorated brown leather. (Bradbury, p. 35). (3/4 by 9/16; 19x15mm). More
Chicago: Black Cat Press, 1962. 84pp. One of 300 copies, designed and with typography by Norman Forgue. A humorous essay about famous book collectors, many of them authors, who allowed their delight in collecting to carry them beyond the limits of moderation into gluttony. Very fine in gilt-stamped green leather... More
(Denver): Budcraft Press, 1967. 50pp. One of 225 copies signed by the artist and U.G. Mosier, the printer. With two hand-colored, naughty illustrations by Ted Castor. Upper cover slightly bowed, else fine in red, gilt-stamped leather. A.e.g. Bookplate of former owner. (2 15/16 by 2 1/4; 75x58mm). More
(Rosemead, CA): Bookhaven Press, 1968. 48pp. One of 500 numbered copies. Illustrated in black & white, with decorations and initials printed in teal. The second publication of the Bookhaven Press, operated by Pall W. Bohne, who wrote, illustrated, printed, and bound the book. Fine in gray mottled paper boards backed... More
Dallas: Somesuch Press, 1980. 62pp. One of 300 copies, signed by the author, Daniel J. Boorstin, the illustrator, Dianne Weiss, and the printers, Susan Acker and Don Greame Kelley. With illustrations throughout printed in orange. A lovely production from the Somesuch Press, bound in buff cloth. Bookplate of former owner... More
Tempe, AZ: Houle, Kelly M. 2008. 14pp. One of 300 copies, signed by the printer, Kelly M. Houle. An English translation of Borges's poem, by Alastair Reid, with a center spread illustrated with an engraving of a library and mystic symbols from Egyptian, Mayan, and other cultures. At the end... More
