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.
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1967. 51pp. One of 210 copies. With four full-page black and white illustrations. A fine copy in gilt-stamped polished navy blue leather. (2 5/16 by 1 7/8; 59x47mm). More about The Bell and Other Tales
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1970. x, 64pp. One of 250 copies. Nine engraved caricature illustrations by J. J. Grandville, the pseudonym of Jean Ignace Isidore Gerard. Florian's amusing lyric tales include "The Inquisitive Cat", "The Crocodile and the Sturgeon", and "The Canary and the Crow". Bound in pictorial yellow cloth... More about Florian's Fables
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1987. 67pp. One of 250 copies, signed by the publisher, Eleanor Irwin. This account of the Millard Fillmore's youth is illustrated with a black & white frontispiece portrait of the President. Fine in gilt-stamped blue cloth. (2 1/2 by 2; 63x51mm). More about My Early Life
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1963. 64pp. One of 350 copies. The second book of the Press. Contains six little-known tales taken from a miniature edition published in Boston, 1863, and wood-engraved vignettes from the same source. Fine in pictorial boards backed in cloth. (2 5/16 by 1 7/8; 59x48mm). More about Grimm's Fairy Tales
Roswell: Hillside Press, 1983. xi, 58pp. One of 300 copies signed by the printer, Eleanor Irwin. With three illustrations, and hand-colored initials and fleur-de-lis on title page. The Introduction is by Richard F. Ellis. Very fine in dark blue leather. (Bradbury, p. 96). (2 1/2 by 2; 65x52mm). More about Walt Whitman
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1980. xv, 50pp. One of 300 copies. Illustrated with eighteen full-page plates. Contains a preface by Robert E. Massmann, as well as a life of Frank Irwin, co-proprietor of this well-known miniature book press, by Eleanor Irwin. Fine in red leatherette with gilt decoration to cover and... More about Bibliography of the Hillside Press, 1971-1980
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1985. 70pp. One of 300 copies signed by the author and printer, Eleanor Irwin. Printed in blue and black. Fine in blue leather with marbled endpapers, gilt. (2 1/2 by 2 1/16; 63x53mm). More about The Book in History
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 about Victor Hammer
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1964. ix,74 pp. One of 375 copies, signed by Irwin. An analysis of Nostradamus' famous foresight, with contemporary verses and texts added. Fine with illustrated dust wrapper, shabby at edges, featuring an image by William Blake. (Welsh 5298). (2 3/8 by 2; 60x51mm). More about The Centuries of Nostradamus
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 about Early Woodcuts and Engravings
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1976. ix, 60pp. One of 300 copies. With occasional black-and-white illustration, a collection of notes bearing on existential philosophy, mysticism, Zen Buddhism, and books. Bound in gray-blue leatherette over boards with gilt decoration. Fine. (2 5/16 by 2; 59x51mm). More about For All We Know
Buffalo, NY: Hillside Press, 1979. 42pp. One of 250 copies. Illustrated throughout in black & white with examples of heraldic bookplates from the fifteenth century onward, including that of George Washington. Fine in pictorial orange cloth. (2 1/4 by 1 7/8; 58x49mm). More about Heraldic Bookplates
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 about Printer's Marks and Colophons
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 about Bibliography of the Hillside Press
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1975. xxiv, 92pp. One of 250 copies. With frontispiece portrait and vignette of Monticello. Fine in gilt-titled red leather. (2 3/8 by 2; 60x50mm). More about Letters of Thomas Jefferson
Roswell, GA: Hillside Press, 1983. vi, 58pp. One of 275 copies. An illustrated account of Morris' life and creative interests. Endpapers decorated with hand-colored renderings of Morris' motto, "Si je puis" and crest, similar to those found at Red House. Fine in printed blue cloth, with hand-colored ornament at endpapers... More about William Morris
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1977. 48pp. One of 250 copies. With eight hand-colored illustrations. A fascinating study of card games from around the world. Very fine in orange pictorial cloth, stamped in black with a playing card illustration. (Bradbury, p. 96). (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 59x49mm). More about History of Playing Cards
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1977. 48pp. One of 250 copies. With eight hand-colored illustrations. A fascinating study of card games from around the world. Very fine in orange pictorial cloth, stamped in black with a playing card illustration. (Bradbury, p. 96). (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 59x49mm). More about History of Playing Cards
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1985. vii, 88pp. One of 300 copies, signed by the publisher, Eleanor Irwin. An illustrated essay about a famous Florentine library. Title page hand-colored. Fine in printed red cloth. (Bradbury, p. 96). (2 1/2 by 2 1/16; 63x52mm). More about The Spell of the Laurenziana
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1978. 50pp. One of 250 copies. A version of the Arabian nights, illustrated in black & white. Fine in olive green cloth. (2 1/4 by 2; 59x49mm). More about Woman's Wit
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1966. xvii, 42pp. One of 375 copies. Various texts by Shakespeare with twelve silhouettes by Paul Konewka. Fine in burgundy cloth over boards, faintly rubbed. (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 60x50mm). More about Falstaff and His Companions
Buffalo: Hillside Press, 1979. 39pp. One of 225 copies. The 1898 version of the text, written for Clemens' autobiography. A very fine copy in pictorial cloth binding. (Bradbury, p. 96). (2 3/8 by 1 15/16; 60x49mm). More about Jim Wolf and the Cats
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1977. 46pp. One of 200 copies. With seven hand-colored illustrations by Albertine Weelan depicting butterflies, fireflies, and other winged creatures. Printed on Maidstone handmade paper and bound in publisher's blue cloth, with black lettering to the front cover and spine. A fine copy. (Bradbury, p. 95). (2 5/16 by 2; 59x50mm). More about The Sky Traveler
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1976. (103)pp. One of 250 copies signed by the publisher, Frank Irwin. Frontispiece uncancelled stamp of Copernicus. Spaces provided for affixing the appropriate stamps, which would include portraits of Catholic historical figures, from Columbus to Kennedy, predominate. Fine in green cloth boards. (2 3/8 by 2; 58x50mm). More about Catholica on American Stamps
Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1878. 499pp. One of 1,000 copies. The type, cut by Antonio Farina in 1834 but never used by him, was cast in 1850 for this edition of Dante, and is thought to be the smallest ever employed. According to Bondy, "the most widely-discussed and the most sensational... More about La Divina Commedia di Dante
