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 ...
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Our miniature books are listed below. You may also browse our miniature books by publisher or by century.
Cleveland: Kinoike Press, 1964. x, 61pp. Signed by the author. Illustrated throughout in color, with descriptions of thirty different flowers that grow in Hawaii. Fine in leather-backed boards covered with Hawaiian tapa paper. Laid in is a slip with name and address of former owner. (2 3/4 by 2; 69x50mm). More about The Little Book of Hawaiian Flowers
(N.p.): Kitemaug Press, 1972. A ten-leaf accordion panorama, with eight floral ornaments printed in color, one to a page. Fine in printed wrappers, housed in a paper sleeve. (3/4 by 11/16; 20x18mm). More about A Printer's Garden
(Turkey: c. 1875). 200ff. Complete, single column, with between thirty-eight and forty-one lines of miniature gold gubari per page. Surah headings in black against gold ribbon banners. The opening two pages of text feature illuminated blue, red, and white borders decorated with interlocking vinal circles, creating a mesmerizing array of... More about Miniature octagon-shaped Koran
(Watertown, MA): Anne and David Bromer, 1977. (24)pp. The text is printed on Japanese paper with ornamentation in green. Wood engravings by Sarah Chamberlain, as her first miniature book commission. This is the first miniature book published by the Bromers. Midori Kunikata-Cockram captures the whimsical nature of the text, which... More about The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast
Paris: Laurent et Deberny, 1855. ii, 160pp. A miniature edition of the eighteenth-century Jesuit poet’s work. This "dainty little edition," as Bondy describes it, or "Edition Mignardise," is printed in beautifully clear and amazingly small type created by the Fonderie Laurent et Deberny in Paris. Kathryn I. Rickard's copy, with..... More about Ver-Vert suivi de La Chartreuse, l'Abbaye et autres pieces
Chicago: Le Petit Oiseau Press, 1968. 7pp. One of 150 copies. With a portrait frontispiece of Christ tipped in. Printed by Doris V. Welsh. Very fine in half blue cloth and yellow boards. (1 7/8 by 1 7/16; 47x36mm). More about One Solitary Life
Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1991. 21pp. One of 60 copies of this miniature leaf book printed by Pall Bohne for Dawson's Book Shop. With an engraved, illustrated leaf from an extremely rare miniature two-volume picture-Bible, printed in The Hague by Daniel Langeweg, circa 1750. The original leaf contains a.... More about Original Leaf from the Kleine Print Bybel c. 1750
(Stillwater, ME: 1993). One of twenty-six lettered copies by artist & calligrapher Nancy Leavitt. An original calligraphic manuscript comprised of twenty beautifully hand-painted pages with a miniature garden fold-out panorama. The garden is hand-lettered with tiny cut-outs, and delightfully painted. Bound in the shape of a house in fuchsia, teal... More about A Small House. Excerpt from The Wish by Abraham Cowley (1647
(Rochester, NY): Leopard Studio Editions, 2014. (24)pp., accordion-fold, with two four-page inserts sewn in. One of five copies, signed and numbered by the artist. A miniature artist's book by Sue Huggins Leopard based on the poem by Emily Dickinson, which reads: "Love is anterior to life, / Posterior to death... More about Love
Enkhuizen, Holland: Jack R. Levien, 1971. (12)ff. One of 100 copies, inscribed by Levien with a hand-written colophon. A facsimile of a miniature book published by Jacques Meson in Anvers in 1667. The text is extracts from the Gospel of John. With frontispiece and illustrated title. Fine in green grosgrain... More about L'Evangile S. Jean
(Bristol): Lilliput Press, 1986. (44)pp. One of 250 copies signed by the printer, Allan Armstrong. Contains British recipes from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a hand-colored frontispiece and hand-colored illustrations of dishes and kitchen equipment. Very fine in gilt-stamped red morocco. (1 3/8 by 1; 35x25mm). More about Country Fare
Valparaiso, IN: Sandlin's, 1994. 41pp. One of 200 copies. The text of President Lincoln's letter to Miss Fanny McCullough is reproduced on a foldout at the center of the book. Preceding the letter is an introduction by Ralph Geoffrey Newman, and following it are his notes. Fine in gilt-stamped black... More about "The Death of Your Kind and Brave Father": President Lincoln Writes to Miss Fanny...
(c. 1900-1930). (110)pp. This Islamic devotional text is calligraphed in black and red and accented with blue and burnished gold. Illuminated with a hand-colored calligraphic frontispiece illustration in gold, blue, green, and purple ink. One section of the text opens with a decorative headpiece in green, and another page has... More about Manuscript Ibadat
Paris: Marcilly, (c. 1830). 127pp. A beautiful little book of hours for young people, with engraved title and five plates, the most charming showing David dancing and playing his harp, as he leads the procession of the Ark. Contains the Order of the Mass and various services in French, and... More about Heures des Jeunes Chretiens
Paris: Marcilly, (c. 1840). 96pp. Printed by Firmin Didot, but with a Marcilly imprint. With engraved half-title and five plates, the finely executed illustrations depict scenes from the life of Christ. The prayers are arranged for special occasions: morning prayers, evening prayer, and prayers for communion and vespers. This tiny... More about Le Petit Paroissien de la Jeunesse
Paris: Marcilly, (1836). 64pp. This almanac, deemed "delightful" by Louis Bondy, is engraved throughout and includes eight full-page illustrations, reflecting the "pleasure and gaiety" mentioned in the title. Calendars of the months are preceded by poems, including "Le Charme" and "L'Innocence," and the tale of Paul et Virginie in verse... More about Plaisir et Gaité. 1837
Paris: Marcilly, 1825. 128pp. With an engraved title-page and seven engraved plates which showcase the elaborate evening costumes of the period. Occasional light foxing, minor soiling to boards and rubbing along outer hinges. Overall a near fine copy in blind embossed boards with slipcase. (2 3/4 by 1 7/8; 70x48mm). (Gumuchian 4139). More about Soirées de l'enfance
New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massmann, 1980. (5)ff. One of 500 copies. A foldout panorama, with flaps which unfold further to reveal changing pictures. Based on the early moralizing "Metamorphoses" or "Harlequinades," but with new, hand-colored illustrations. This one in particular is adapted from the 1852 edition "Improved and Published"... More about A Metamorphose Showing the Unchanging Nature of Human Nature
New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massmann, (1975). (19)pp. Contains pen drawings in blue, illustrating famous landmarks such as Faneuil Hall, the Old State House, and the North Bridge monument. With a folding map in the rear. A larger edition of another Massman publication, which was paired with Tales of the... More about Historic Boston, Lexington, Concord
(New Britain, CT): Robert E. Massmann, 1977. 28pp., frenchfold. One of 500 copies printed at Art Press. Classic nursery rhymes are printed with hand-colored plates. Blank plates must be opened and held to a strong light to "magically" reveal the images. Illustrated in color by C. Ernest Massmann. Bound in... More about REM Magic Nursery Rhymes
(New Britain, CT): Robert E. Massman, 1970. (7)pp. accordionfold, plus fold-out calendar. The accordionfold pages provide an introduction written by Massmann, who states that this is his second attempt at typesetting haikus. The fold-out calendar sets two haikus next to each month of the year, all printed in deep purple... More about A Calendar of Haiku. A Seasonal Dialogue
(New Britain, CT): Massmann, Robert E., 1962. 51pp. Limited to 2000 copies. The first book printed by Massmann. An address given on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Elihu Burritt, reformer, pacifist and humanitarian. Very fine in the deluxe binding of gilt-titled blue morocco. A.e.g. (3 by 2; 63x46mm.). More about Elihu Burritt. As Much a Brother
New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massmann, (1975). 15pp. With pen drawings in red by E. Helene Sherman depicting tree-shaded lanes, the Old Stone Bridge, and other outdoor and domestic scenes. Bound in blue paper wrappers with a paper label printed in red. Fine. (Bradbury, p. 241). (1 15/16 by 1 9/16; 49x40mm). More about Tales of the Wayside Inn
(New Britain): Massmann, Robert E., 1971. (42)pp., frenchfold. No limitation stated. Printed in purple ink, with illustrations of twenty-five Christian symbols by E. Helene Sherman. Miniature bookplate of Haddon Klingberg, designed by Massmann, used as a frontispiece. Fine in white leatherette, with a label illuminated in gold by Sherman. White... More about Alpha and Omega: the Christian Symbol that was Haddon Klingberg
New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massman, 1982. One of 250 copies. Illustrated throughout, with many small items of ephemera including a tiny Christmas card, a war ration book with four ration stamps in it, bookplates, and a sample of paper from Dard Hunter's mill. Bound in brown leatherette with illustration... More about Bibliography of REM Miniatures: First Supplement
