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.
(Chillicothe, OH: Mountain House Press, 1987). Four volumes. Unpaginated. One of 50 numbered copies printed by Dard Hunter II at the Mountain House Press. The text, written in 1915, is reprinted from the quarterly published by Alfred Fowler entitled The Miscellany, Volume II, No. 1. It was written by Dard..... More
San Diego, CA: Iron Bear Press, 2000. One of 50 copies, signed by Weintraub. Two volumes of fables, bound dos-a-dos. Fine in boards covered with gray and tan handmade paper. (3 by 2 3/8; 75x60mm). More
Oak Park, IL: Jubilee Press, 1993. (8)ff. A linocut of Africa follows the text, a folktale from northern Ethiopia, which explains how the great Mount Gadam led a company of mountains until she was stuck in the sea and could no longer move. Thus behind her the remaining peaks formed..... More
Paris: Rignoux, 1823. Ten volumes, each with 48 pages. First edition. Illustrated with 68 plates from copper engravings and one folding map. Legrand's miniature library for children contains the following titles: Morale en Action; Mythologie; Geographie; Fables; Histoire de France; Contes; Animaux; Insectes; Mineralogie; and Botanique. Augustin Legrand (1765 -..... More
Palm Beach Gardens: Kaycee Press, 1989. (65)pp. Limited to 200 copies printed by Ward Schori. This copy inscribed by the author. Humorous and sensitive poetry to the memory of his mother by one of the founders of the Miniature Book Society. Very fine in covers of dark blue with gilt-stamping..... 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
(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
(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
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
(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
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
(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
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
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)..... More
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
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
(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
(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
(New Britain, CT): Robert E. Massmann, (1970). (16)pp. One of 150 copies. A cheerful collection of haikus and poems written and assembled from young Patty, presumably Ankenbrand's daughter. Printed on purple pages with white text, with light blue endpapers and white wrappers. Very fine. Housed in light blue slipcase. (1..... More
(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
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..... More
(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
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
(New Britain, CT): Robert E. Massmann, 1981. (16)ff., frenchfold. One of 500 copies printed at Art Press. An illustrated alphabet by E. Helene Sherman, which is a reissue in a smaller format of the earlier "ABC's of Boston." It shows all the "must see" attractions of Boston. With title-page illuminated..... More
New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massmann, 1975. (17)ff. One of 250 copies. Compiled and illustrated by Mildred Claire Pratt. Poetry about seashells printed in a rosy pink on frenchfold papers. Hand-colored illustrations of shells on every page. A pretty book in blue cloth covers with paper label. Very fine in..... More
