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.
Upper Denby, Huddersfield: Fleece Press, 2009. (64)pp., + 4 folded sheets of plates. One of 260 copies. A thorough and instructive catalogue of fishing flies, helpfully illustrated with color plates. An actual fly is mounted inside the front paste-down. Bound in full marbled paper over boards. Fine. Housed in slipcase..... More
Woolley, England: Fleece Press, 1986. 28pp. One of 250 copies bound in cloth. Illustrated with nine engravings taken from the original blocks by artists Joan Hassall, Monica Poole, George Mackley, and others. A couple of the illustrations relate to the art of printing. Extremely fine in patterned Liberty cloth with..... More
NY: B. Shackman & Co., Inc., 1993. (40)ff. A charming flip book, in which a daring roadster jumps over a bus and six other cars. Bound in illustrated wrappers, all black and white. Minor rubbing to edges and few spots of foxing to top edge, else near fine. (1 1/2..... More
Hong Kong: Ford Press, 1968. 108pp. First edition. One of 500 copies, signed by Alla T. Ford on the colophon. An article first published in "The Book-Lover's Answer" in July 1965. Illustrated throughout in black & white. Fine in gilt-titled blue cloth. (2 3/8 by 1 15/16; 61x49mm). 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
N.p. Garcia de Fuentes Press, n.d. 12ff. One of 200 copies. Illustrated with color images throughout. Bound in printed mylar over wrappers. Fine. (2 3/4 by 2; 70x51mm). 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, 1986. (22)pp. One of 300 copies. A short story by Barnett, employing the use of Scottish dialect, and illustrated with generic scenes of country life. Bound in full blue-green cloth over boards with cover title in gilt. Fine. (2 by 1 1/2; 51x37mm). More
Paisley, Scotland: Gleniffer Press, 1987. (iv), 240pp. One of 500 copies. Signed by the printer/binder, Ian Macdonald. A special miniature reprint of the "Kilmarnock" edition of Burns' work, which appeared in 1786. Bound in full blue leather with silver spine titling. Housed in publisher's acrylic box with original title card..... 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
(N.p.): 1976. Three volumes. 22pp.; (14)ff.; (16)ff. With hand-colored illustrations by Amanda Goldman. The first title contains pictures of columbine, water lily, larkspur, and other species. The second volume features vibrant renditions of the chickadee, owl, and other birds. Dolls and Doll Houses is separated into two parts, representing the..... More
(N.p.): Fantod Press, 1993. First edition. Two miniature books bound as one, consisting entirely of line illustrations. Fine in printed wrappers. (2 1/4 by 2 3/4; 57x70mm). (Toledano A109a). More
Boston: Bromer, Anne & David, 1982. 41ff. One of just thirty-six copies. A miniature manuscript consisting of twelve original watercolor designs on soft gray paper by Robert Gould, showing hearts embellished with symbolic designs. These include the Heart of the Rose Tree, the Heart of the Medusa, the Wooden Heart..... More
Edwardsville, IL: Hutchins, Ed, 1991. Four wedge-shaped volumes, with each section describing an obstacle to unification and peace: Hunger, Poverty, Intolerance, and Ignorance. Each volume consists of a series of elaborate folds, with brightly colored illustrations. In a clever structural statement, when the four books are placed together forming a...... 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
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1973. 50pp. From an edition of 250 copies, this is the first, with a special inscription from the printer, Frank Irwin, to veteran book dealer Sam Murray on the limitation page. The Preface discusses the ancient source of these fables, the Panchatantra, its translations into Arabic..... More
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1974. xvii, 40pp. One of 250 copies. The Caxton translation of 1484 is used, and eight of Caxton's original woodcuts of that edition are reproduced here. With a preface on Caxton and his work. Fine in orange cloth boards printed with Caxton's insignia. (2 3/8 by..... More
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1974. xvii, 40pp. One of 250 copies. The Caxton translation of 1484 is used, and eight of Caxton's original woodcuts of that edition are reproduced here. With a Preface on Caxton and his work. Fine in orange cloth boards printed with Caxton's insignia. (2 3/8 by..... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1965. xvi, 50pp. One of 375 copies. A collection of Aesop's fables with engraved illustrations of the original woodcuts by Thomas Bewick. A fine copy in blue cloth with a yellow illustrated dust wrapper, which is signifiantly torn at the rear side. (Bradbury, p. 94). (2..... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1965. xvi, 50pp. One of 375 copies. A collection of Aesop's fables with engraved illustrations of the original woodcuts by Thomas Bewick. A fine copy in blue cloth with a yellow illustrated dust wrapper. (Bradbury, p. 94). (2 1/4 by 2; 59x51mm). More
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1982. 50pp. One of 350 copies signed by the author and printer, Eleanor Irwin. Slight skew to spine, else near fine in red, gilt-stamped leather. (2 7/16 by 2 1/16; 62x51mm). More
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1978. 62pp. One of 275 copies, signed by the author/printer, Frank Irwin. Illustrated with reproductions of woodcuts and engravings from the fifteenth century onward. Fine in pictorial tan cloth. (2 1/4 by 2; 60x50mm). More
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1976. 51pp. One of 250 copies. Illustrated throughout with printer's marks from presses, both early and modern. Fine in yellow cloth, printed in black. Bookplate. (Bradbury p. 95). (2 5/16 by 2; 58x49mm). More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1961. 52pp. Limited to 350 copies handset, printed and signed by the author. Clever antic verses about all manner of things including "The Bookseller." A fine copy of the first book of the Press, in cloth-backed patterned boards with a printed paper label. (2 5/16 by..... More
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1971. xix, 51pp. One of 350 copies. Illustrated with twenty-five full-page woodcuts and other illustrations. Contains a preface by Robert E. Massmann. Fine in green, gilt-stamped cloth. Bookplate. (Bradbury, p. 95). (2 3/8 by 2; 61x51mm). More
