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.
San Fernando, CA: Junipero Serra Press, (1984). 14pp. One of 350 copies. A commemorative miniature for the 1984 Olympics, with a brief laudatory discourse on its aims and actualities. Postage stamp of a hurdler tipped in as frontispiece. Fine in full red leather. (2 13/16 by 2 1/8; 73x53mm). 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
New Britain, CT: J. L. Kapica, 1964. 30pp. Frontispiece portrait of Kennedy. A collection of transcripts of eulogies for former President John F. Kennedy, delivered in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, November 24, 1963. The eulogies were given by Mike Mansfield, Earl Warren, and John McCormack. Some rubbing..... More
(Austin, TX: Somesuch Press, 1986). (22)ff. One of 200 copies, signed by the printer. With thirteen black & white illustrations by the artist Rockwell Kent. Originally published in 1922 in an edition of eight copies. This miniature book was composed and printed by eight-year-old Susannah Kent (no relation to the..... More
Spartanburg: Kitemaug Press, 1988. (20)ff. One of 100 copies. Fabrications about remarkable cats, illustrated with woodcuts. Fine in gray pictorial cloth. (1 15/16 by 1 9/16; 48x43mm). 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
Dubna: Phoenix, 1996. (14)ff. One of fifty copies. Printed in three languages: Russian, English, and German. With brilliant handcolored illustrations by Vladimir Markov on practically every page, including numerous double-page illustrations and pictorial endpapers. Bound in red lacquer, the covers bear folkloric, textile-inspired designs in gilt and red. Appropriately, the..... More
Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1981. 21pp. One of 150 copies. Charles Lamb's Mr. H. here receives coy, yet noble, bibliographic detail. Bound in full green leather with gilt title to upper cover. Fine. (2 13/16 by 2 1/16; 72x52mm). More
(Stillwater, ME: Nancy Leavitt, 1993). (14)pp. One of twenty-six copies. A calligraphic manuscript using gouache and glair, written, designed, and bound by Nancy Leavitt. The letters of the alphabet are arranged into phrases about traveling. Presented in lively hues of orange, olive, violet, and periwinkle, the text is gracefully written..... More
(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
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
Enkhuizen: Jack R. Levien, 1971. (14)ff. An abridged version of the New Testament story, illustrated with tiny reproductions of medieval woodcuts. Fine in full leather, with gilt fillets and a tiny gilt star. (11/16 by 1/2; 17x12mm). More
Enkhuizen, Holland: Levien, Jack R., 1970. (30)pp. The story of Noahs ark, with Levien's charming drawings. Text in English. Minor discoloration to edges of cover, otherwise fine in red leather with a little ark stamped in gold. A.e.g. (1 1/4 by 7/8; 31x23mm). More
St. Louis, MO: 1970. 55pp. Illustrated throughout with photographic reproductions of miniature books. Book and binding designed by Jack R. Levien and printed in the Netherlands. Fine in full leather. A.e.g. (2 9/16 by 2; 66x51mm). More
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
Paris: Marcilly, 1825. 128pp. With an engraved title-page and seven engraved plates which showcase popular party games 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. (Gumuchian 4139). (2 3/4 by 1 7/8;..... More
Paris: Marcilly, (c. 1830). 95pp. Oblong. A miniature collection of La Fontaine's fables illustrated with six finely-engraved plates and an engraved title-page vignette. In a contemporary binding of chestnut morocco with gilt stamping to covers, turn-ins, and spine. Fine. A.e.g. Bookplate of former owner on front free endpaper. (Welsh 4236;..... More
London (but Hertfordshire): John Marshall (but Anne and Peter Stockham), 1801 (but 1976). One of forty-eight copies. In this "cabinet," there are two miniature books and a collection of twenty-eight hand-colored engravings of the objects listed in the books. The books are bound in full leather, one maroon and one..... More
New Britain, CT: Art Press, (1983). (8)pp. From an edition of 300 copies, this is one of 59 numbered and hand-colored, in commemoration of the printer Robert E. Massman's birthday. Illuminated initials precede Sherman's calligraphy, which here presents a title page in Spanish and a Latin gimmick poem, which requires..... More
New Britain, CT: Robert E. Massmann, 1979. (15)pp. One of 250 copies. Inscribed by Massman at the front flyleaf. A collection of "tiny charmers" of Massman's design. The bookplates are printed largely in brown, but one of a cardinal perched on an evergreen tree is in color. Bound in green..... More
(New Britain, CT): Robert E. Massmann, (1970). (16)pp. One of 150 copies. A cheerful collection of haiku and poems written and assembled as a Christmas gift for young Patty Terzano, the daughter of friends of the Massmann family. Printed on purple pages with white text, with light blue endpapers and..... More
(New Britain, CT): Elihu Burritt Library (REM Miniatures), 1962. 51pp. From an edition of 2000 copies, this is one of a few copies in a variant binding of full leather. Illustrated with a portrait of Burritt, facsimile of a letter he wrote containing the title phrase, and an example of..... 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: Art Press, 1978. Two volumes bound dos-a-dos. 38; 34pp. One of 250 copies. The first volume contains the bibliography, while the second contains selected illustrations that had been drawn for REM miniatures, most of which are hand-colored by Eloise and Robert Massmann. Bound in brown leatherette with..... More
