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.
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
(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
(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
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
Santa Ana: Gold Stein Press, 1985. 22ff. One of 75 copies signed by Bradbury, and by D'Ambrosio, who designed, printed, and bound the book. Illustrated throughout with embossed images and serigraphs, over which some of the poems are printed. Bound in full gray morocco with a silver foil inset, which... More
Chicago: Petit Oiseau Press, 1954. 7pp. Although the limitation is not printed in the book, this is one of 100 copies. Doris Welsh's second book, published before she began to use the "Petit Oiseau" imprint. Illustrated with a drawing of the Mayflower as the frontispiece. Bound in purple cloth-backed decorated... More
(Branchburg, NJ: Red Dog Press), 2016. (20)pp. One of eighty copies printed for the XXXIVth Miniature Book Society Grand Conclave, which was held in McKinney, Texas in August 2016. Illustrated with an image of the Texas flag, and with a tipped-in three-cent postage stamp, issued to celebrate Texas's 100th anniversary... More
Boston & Vancouver: Bromer Booksellers & HM Editions, 2015. 72pp. From an edition of 120, this is one of thirty-five deluxe copies. Winner of the 2016 Miniature Book Society Competition Distinguished Book Award. Designed and printed at Heavenly Monkey, this lovely miniature memoir and bibliography contains stories of pleasure, coincidence... More
Boston & Vancouver: Bromer Booksellers & HM Editions, 2015. 72pp. From an edition of 120, this is one of 85 copies that make up the regular edition. Designed and printed at Heavenly Monkey, this lovely miniature memoir and bibliography contains stories of pleasure, coincidence, and difficulty for each of the... More
NYC: Abrams and The Grolier Club, (2007). Small quarto. 215pp. One of 250 deluxe copies for sale, signed by the authors and including a facsimile of the book in miniature format, together in a specially designed slipcase. Profusely illustrated with more than 260 full-color photographic reproductions including numerous full-page illustrations... More
NY: Abrams and the Grolier Club, (2007). Small quarto. 215pp. One of 250 deluxe copies, of which 200 were for sale, signed by the authors, Anne C. Bromer and Julian I. Edison, and including a facsimile of the book in miniature format. This unique set features a remarkable pair of... More
Worcester: St. Onge, Achille J. 1955. 88pp. One of 1,000 copies printed at the Chiswick Press. Very fine in gilt-stamped green leather. A.e.g. (2 3/8 by 1 13/16; 60x46mm). More
Jamaica, NY: Minia Press, (c. 1945). (181)pp. Forty-four sonnets composed during the author's twenty-month correspondence with fellow poet Robert Browning that preceded the two writers' marriage. Many of the sonnets reportedly continue themes and sentiments articulated in the poet's courtship letters. Very fine in red cloth boards with gilt lettering... More
London: Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. 1901. 149pp. + (1)p. ads. One of the "Midget" series of miniature books published by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. With portrait frontispiece and fifteen plates. Light soiling to cover, small ownership inscription to front endpaper, else fine in cream boards with red and... More
Glasgow: BRYCE, DAVID, (c. 1896). 240pp. Reduced facsimile of the first edition, which had been printed in Kilmarnock by John Wilson in 1786. Fine in green leather. (Spielmann 69). (1 3/16 by 7/8; 30x20mm). More
Austin: Amistad Press, (1979). (30)pp. One of 150 copies, signed and numbered by the illustrator/publisher, Yolanda Carter. A collection of true stories told by Miguel Calderon, a lawyer and ambassador living in Mexico City, with black & white illustrations throughout by Carter. This was Carter's fifth book as the publisher... More
Newton, IA: Tamazunchale Press, 1987. 31pp. Truman Capote's essay describes his first meeting with French author Colette, during which she gave him a crystal paperweight and inspired him to start collecting the objects for himself. The book has been specially bound by Tom McEwan to reflect the world in miniature... More
