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.
![The History of Reynard the Fox [The Tormenting of Tibert]. Christopher Harrisson, trans](/pictures/thumb/27396.JPG?v=1488320862)
Zuilichem: Catharijne Press, 1991. 56pp. From an edition of 190 copies, this is one of fifteen deluxe copies with an extra wood engraving. Frontispiece engraving by Pam Rueter, signed and numbered by the artist. Extra engraving also signed and numbered, and held in a mat in a separate cloth bi-fold..... More
Zuilichem: Catharijne Press, 1995. 58pp. From a total edition of 190, this is one of fifteen special edition copies. Illustrated with a portrait of Anne Frank as the frontispiece. The special edition is bound in full red morocco, gilt-stamped with Anne Frank's signature and with a 14 carat gold plated..... More
Utrecht, The Netherlands: Catharijne Press, 1984. 20pp. One of 100 copies, with an artistic photogravure frontispiece by Johan de Zoete, which is signed and numbered. The two poems are "To Helen," and "Annabel Lee." Extremely fine oblong miniature; the first published by Catharijne Press. Bound in black morocco with a...... More
Zuilichem: Catharijne Press, 1995. 58pp. From a total edition of 190, this is one of fifteen special edition copies. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Captain Lemuel Gulliver and a map showing the location of Lilliput, by Arne Zuidhoek. Includes an Introduction by Richard Sympson. The text is Chapter 1..... More
(Vienna, VA): Jo Ann Reisler, (1982). (34)pp., accordionfold. One of 150 copies signed by the artist, Sarah Chamberlain. A panorama bestiary, in which each letter of the alphabet is illustrated with a different bird or animal in a winsome wood engraving. Fine in decorated paper-covered boards with a matching slipcase..... More
Birmingham: C. Caswell, (c. 1870). (16)pp. Engraved frontispiece. A moral tale on the ills of covetousness and theft, and the corresponding rights of honesty and confession. Bound in yellow paper wrappers. Untitled hymn (first line: "Among the deepest shades of night") appears on lower cover. Scant foxing and creasing to..... More
(Los Angeles): William Cheney, 1975. (30)ff. The famous verse from "A Apple Pie, B Bit It, C Cut It," etc. is illustrated with large calligraphic-style letters in this micro-miniature book. It is the smallest book printed in California and was executed by William Cheney for Dawson's Book Shop. A very..... 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
Pasadena: Susan and Karen Dawson, 1966. 21pp. Burgess' humorous poem, printed in purple and illustrated with several whimsical line drawings. The binding on this book varies; this copy in glazed-leather boards, hand-bound by Bela Blau. With a cow illustration gilt-stamped in the top left corner of the cover. A fine..... More
(Shaker Heights, OH): Wind and Harlot Press, 1986. 12pp. One of twenty-three copies. Keats's ballad of a knight wooed by a beautiful and wild "faery's child" and then abandoned by her, haggard and pale, on the cold hillside. In a designer binding by Paul Delrue depicting the setting at the..... More
Huntington Beach, CA: Der Kolibri Press, 1985. (6)ff., accordionfold. One of twenty-five copies. Signed by the illustrator, Margaret Class, below the colophon. The verse of Isaiah 31:5 is paired with two woodcuts of hummingbirds. Bound in half-leather with striking pictorial paper over boards displaying birds and flowers in vibrant colors..... More
Paris: Didot, Typographie de Firmin, (c. 1810). 125pp., + (8)ff. Eight engravings on beige paper. The absurd adventures of Pierrot, born from a turkey's egg to La Fee Gourmande, and dedicated to gourmandise from that moment on, until his gluttony proves too much and dooms him. An extremely rare cautionary..... More
Paris: Henri Didot, 1827. 96pp. This is the first volume to be printed with Didot’s 2 1/2-point microscopic type, which was the smallest produced to that date and is noted for its beauty and clarity. Bound in contemporary polished brown morocco with gilt-tooled decoration on both covers and an elegant..... More
Paris: P. Rocolet, 1664. 320pp. Engraved frontispiece depicting two worshippers in stately garb each standing atop a heraldic device. This book of hours was designed with travelers in mind, from its convenient size to its durable binding to its conclusion, which bears a prayer specifically for those on a journey..... More
San Rafael, CA: Feathered Serpent Press, 1985. (40)pp. From an edition of 175, this is one of 50 deluxe copies with an extra suite of nine etchings. A humorous etymology exploring the history and word-play of the word "bag." Illustrated throughout with hand-colored drawings by Weiss. Bound in tan leather..... More
Oxford: University Press, 1838. Two near-miniature volumes. Unpaginated. Concealed under the gilt fore-edges of the two volumes are beautifully executed paintings by Martin Frost. The fore-edge painting on the first volume, which contains the Old Testament, depicts the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest. Built in the Moorish Revival style in..... More
Paris: P. Blanchard, 1810. 189pp. Engraved frontispiece, after the painting "La Vierge à l'Enfant avec le petit saint Jean-Baptiste" by Raphael, and an engraved title page, showing a young boy dressed in a tunic and praying in a garden. A charming volume replete with prayers for all situations and events..... More
Worcester, MA: Achille J. St. Onge, 1973. 55pp. The text is printed with large ornamental initials in red by Joh. Enschedé en Zonen. In a striking designer binding by Stephen Conway, evoking ancient wood and stone. Conway writes that his bindings "have a tactile quality, in keeping with the three..... More
(Boston): Anne and David Bromer, 1986. (15), (15)ff. From an edition of 160 copies, bound together here are one of the thirty-five deluxe copies with hand-illuminated initials in gold and colors by Suzanne Moore, and one of the 125 regular copies. Both are A.P. copies, indicated in Moore's calligraphy on..... More
Northridge, CA: Lord John Press, 1981. 29 pp. From an edition of 400, this is one of 100 copies specially bound by Bela Blau. Signed by President Gerald R. Ford. The text of a September 1980 address given to the Visa International Convention in Quebec encouraging world peace for economic..... More
London: Frowde, Henry, (c. 1905). 584pp. With a portrait of Oliver Goldsmith as frontispiece. "A handsome edition on thin paper." With pink marbled endpapers. Fine in red morocco, gilt on spine and panels. A.e.g. (Welsh 3103; Spielmann 171; AAS 149). (2 3/16 by 1 7/8; 55x47mm). More
(N.p. c. 1922). Set of eight cards, printed in red, along with a rules sheet. The cards form a drinking game; all are dealt to a group of eight, and each player must follow the pictorial instruction on the card placed before them. Five cards show a single cocktail, indicating..... More
(Amsterdam: Alice Garman, 1971). (44)ff. One of 250 copies. Stevenson's delightfully amusing reasons for vetoing a bill passed by the Illinois State Legislature that would have required cats to be leashed. Printed from the calligraphy of Alice Garman and illustrated by her. Garman was a renowned artist and the wife..... More
Paisley, Scotland: Gleniffer Press, 1978. (28)ff. One of 500 copies. With portraits of Robert Burns and others. Between these are highlights of Burns' compendium of work, including "To a Mouse" and "Address to a Haggis". Pictorial endpapers and printed boards. Fine in a fine pictorial dust wrapper. Bookplate of former..... More
(London): Goode Bros. c. 1875. (47)pp. Illustrated throughout with black & white lithographs, this little book includes excerpts from several Old Testament stories. In dark violet gilt-stamped wrappers. An unusually fine copy. (Bondy 162). (2 1/4 by 1 5/8; 58x40mm.). More
