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.
(Agoura Hills: Raheb, Barbara J., 1993). (6)ff. Charming miniature pop-up version of Potter's classic tale. With five color vignettes of Flopsie, Mopsie, Cottontail and Peter getting into all sorts of mischief. Bound in gilt stamped green morocco with marbled endpapers. A.e.g. Very fine.(Bradbury p.220). (1 1/4 by 1; 33x25mm). More
Agoura Hills: Pennyweight Press, 1995. (9)ff. One of 100 copies signed by Barbara Raheb. A charming miniature pop-up book depicting a very scary tale of a dark, dark house on a dark, dark moor. Delightfully illustrated and hand-colored, with a pop-up vignette of a cat rising over a sleeping mouse..... More
(Hyattsville, MD): Rebecca Press, 1991. (18)ff. A special edition published to mark the birth of a daughter to the printer, Rebecca Bingham. Fine in blue and white handmade paper boards, with a birth announcement tipped-onto the front cover. (2 1/2 by 2 7/8; 63x74mm). More
London: Rock & Co, (ca.1850). (32)ff. With an engraved frontispiece of the Tomb of Abelard and Eloise, an engraved title-page, and thirty lovely engraved views of Paris. Covers slightly bowed and some exterior rubbing, else overall a near fine copy in publishers gilt-stamped limp leather wrappers. A.e.g. (Spielmann 59; Welsh..... More
London: Rock Bros. & Payne, (c. 1850). (32)ff. With an engraved frontispiece of Wellington Statue and thirty engraved views of London. Spine slightly rubbed, else fine in publisher's gilt-stamped limp leather wrappers. A.e.g. (Spielmann 58; Welsh 1283). (1 1/4 by 1; 31x26mm). More
Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1968. 103pp. One of 400 copies printed by Grabhorn-Hoyem. This was to have been the last book designed by Bruce Rogers begun in his 87th year, but the corrected page proofs did not reach him until the day of his death in 1957. They gathered..... More
Worcester, MA: Commonwealth Press, 1932. One of 250 copies. Known at the time as the smallest book in the world, this tiny book is part of a set, which includes a miniature edition of the book (1 3/4 by 1 1/2; 44x37mm), showing, in addition to the text, an explanatory..... More
Niagara Falls: Carol Schwartzott, 1994. (14) pp. One of 20 copies, signed by Carol Schwartzott, the designer and binder. A hexagonal book with six bright hand-colored illustrations, bound in hexagonal boards with a hand-colored decoration reminiscent of Islamic tiles. Housed in a hexagonal wooden box, painted in black, gold, red..... More
Overland Park, KS: Scott Free Press, 1983. 32pp. One of 250 copies, signed by Duane C. Scott, the printer. With reproductions of some of the original illustrations for these famous stories. Trace rubbing, else near fine in full black leather with titles tooled in blue-green. (2 5/8 by 2 1/2;..... More
Mill Valley, CA: Sunflower Press, 1977. (16)ff. From an edition of 250 copies illustrated in color by Marcie Collin and printed by Carol Cunningham, this copy is in a designer binding by Sonya Sheats. Evoking the fierce battle between the Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, the artist envisioned "a..... More
Charlestown, MA: Emporium Publications, (n.d.). (28)ff. One of 250 copies. Each letter of the alphabet accompanies an illustration of a Boston landmark, from "Aquarium" to "Zoo," by way of the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum and Quincy Market. Bound in full orange cloth lettered in gilt on the front cover, and..... More
(New Britain, CT: Massmann, Robert E., n.d.). (34)pp. From an edition of 300 copies, this is one of an unstated few produced as a scroll. On each panel, Sukie, a miniature French poodle, poses alongside a hand-colored letter. Scroll finished with a red dowel and red ribbon, and held in..... More
Orinda, CA: Shoestring Press, 1998. 50pp. One of 50 copies, signed by Anna M. Morrison at the colophon. An illustrated anthology of nursery rhymes, designed and printed in red and black by Philip Morrison. Bound in patterned papers backed with blue cloth. Upper cover features an image of a shepherdess..... More
London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, (c. 1915). 702pp. An unabridged Book of Common Prayer. Gorgeously bound in maroon morocco with a hallmarked Birmingham silver plaque affixed to the front cover, featuring five cherubs. Very fine. A.e.g. (Bromer/Edison, p. 81). (2 1/8 by 1 7/8; 53x47 mm). More
(Bexhill, Sussex): Silver Thimble Books, 1983. (42)pp. One of 500 copies signed by the author/artist. A comic, verse retelling of a familiar fairy tale, illustrated with line drawings. Very fine in cloth with pictorial label. (2 1/8 by 1 5/8; 54x43mm). More
(Bexhill, Sussex): Silver Thimble Books, 1985. (38)pp. One of 50 copies, hand-colored and signed by the artist. With two plates. Mint in blue cloth with cut-out, hand-colored pictorial label. Black slipcase. (2 1/8 by 1 5/8; 54x43mm). More
Tokyo: Toppan Printing Co., (1965). This set includes two versions of the first chapter of the Book of Genesis: a micro-miniature book measuring 3/4 of an inch square and an ultra-micro-miniature measuring 4mm square. The micro-miniature contains 29 pages of text, including an explanation of the production of the accompanying..... More
(Tokyo: Toppan Printing Co., 1980). Two volumes: 10pp. each. The larger volume is 1/2-inch square and contains the full text of the Lord's Prayer. Bound in black cloth. The second volume is a micro-miniature, of the same, measuring 1.4 millimeters square, among the smallest miniature books in the world. Bound..... More
Paisley, Scotland: Gleniffer Press, 1985. (12)pp. One of 85 copies. This micro-miniature was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the "Smallest Book in the World" in 1985. The book was printed using offset lithographic methods, with the text area of each page being less than 1 square millimeter..... More
(N.p.): Design Concepts of America, 1977. Single microform sheet + (32)pp. The microform holds all 1245 pages of the Bible, at a reduction of 62,500 to 1. Part of a series of MicroJewel Presentation productions, and accompanied by a booklet that is both laudatory of the technological achievement of the..... More
(Leipzig): Edition Leipzig, 1971. (28)pp. Ultra-miniature ABC, accompanied by a trifold information booklet, which describes in German the book's production and contributors. Bound in a gilt-stamped leather binding, and housed in translucent sliding case, together with booklet inside cloth-covered box. Fine. (3x2.5mm). More
Germany: Faber & Faber, 2000. (26)pp. An ultra-miniature alphabet, ensconced in a wooden box and protected by a translucent cover. Accompanied by an informational booklet with each highly illustrated letter legible to the naked eye and some notes on the production of the edition. Bound in brown leather. Few nicks..... More
(Loket, Czech Republic: Jan and Jarmila Sobota, 2007). A short but pointed exigesis on the words "robot," which was first used by the Czech playwright Karel Kapek, and "robotics," first used by the Russian-born Isaac Asimov in one of his short stories. According to the Sobotas, the word "robot" derives..... More
Dallas: Somesuch Press, 1979. xiv, 47pp. One of 395 copies, signed by David Holman, the printer. Printed in brown and black, with pictorial title. Foreword by Lon Tinkle. Extremely fine in cream leather, with gilt horse stamp and titling. (2 1/2 by 1 7/8; 65x46mm). More
Dallas: Somesuch Press, 1984. 69pp. One of 325 copies, signed by Dugald Stermer, who contributed several black and white line illustrations. Gustave Flaubert's brief tale of the "indolent and ridiculous" bookseller Giacomo, whose singular passion in life was books. Very fine in full red leather, with gilt design stamped on..... More
