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.
Chicago, Illinois: Lightner, (1943). Octavo. 329pp. First edition. Illustrated throughout with black & white photographs. A reference book on all things small, including doll houses and aircraft models, with a chapter on miniature books. Spine ends lightly bumped and a bit of yellowing to edges of text block. Fine, in... More
Berkeley, California: Peacock Press, 1965. 24mo. 15pp. + (4)pp. ads. With a black & white frontispiece of an eighteenth-century Spanish psalter from the UCLA Special Collections. This article first appeared in the New York Times in 1964. Includes a list of Peacock Press titles at the end. Spine faintly faded... More
(London: Java Head Bookshop, 1948). 79pp. One of 500 copies. Illustrated with plates reproducing pages from important miniature books in black & white, including the Pickering Diamond Classics Odyssey. A concise history of miniature books from the 16th to 19th centuries, and a tribute to the joys of collecting miniature... More
London: Edward Arnold, (1961). Octavo. 289pp. First edition. One of 500 copies. Illustrated with black & white photographs. Spielmann's useful catalogue is among the most important reference tools in the miniature book field. Bound in patterned, quarter-cloth boards, gilt-lettered to the spine. The dust wrapper is price-clipped, spine slightly toned... More
Storrs-Mansfield, CT: Maurizio Martino Publishers, (1995). Octavo. 289pp. Reprint edition. One of 150 copies. Illustrated with black & white photographs. Spielmann's useful catalogue is among the most important reference tools in the miniature book field. Bound in red cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. No dust jacket as issued... More
(Boston: Thomas Todd, 1932). 30pp. One of 250 copies. The illustration used for the frontispiece was loaned by Wilbur Macey Stone. A true miniature book about miniatures written by collectors whose tiny tomes were auctioned at Swann Galleries on November 15, 1990. Outer hinge lightly rubbed, light uniform fading to... More
(Boston: Thomas Todd, 1932). 30pp. One of 250 copies. With a frontispiece illustration reproduced from a print loaned by Wilbur Macey Stone. A true miniature book about miniatures written by collectors whose tiny tomes were auctioned at Swann Galleries on November 15, 1990. Fine in stiff mauve wrappers decorated and... More
Ellenton, Florida: Opuscula Press, 1995. Octavo. 170pp. Frontispiece photograph. A miniature reference work by noted miniature collector Monseigneur Francis J. Weber. Includes the "ABC's of Miniature Bookdom," information on the Grand Conclaves, biographical essays, a section of miniature book trivia quizzes, notable collections of miniature books, and more. With an... More
NY: Valentine's Manual Press, 1922. 192pp. Engravings throughout of historic Yonkers buildings, landmarks, and scenery. A near-miniature account of the history of Yonkers, from its founding to its contemporary commercial, cultural, and social environments. Bound in red leather with gilt title to upper cover. Housed in paper slipcase. Some bumping... More
Watertown, Mass. Bromer, Anne & David, 1979. (20)pp. Copy number one of 85 copies, only 50 of which were for sale. Printed by Darrell Hyder. This is the text of the first edition (1840), printed as a micro-miniature with a pictorial opening initial hand-calligraphed by Janet Hobbs. Bound by C.... More
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1972. x, 38pp. One of 250 copies. With nine charming, hand-colored illustrations. Fine in peach cloth boards stamped in black. with an illustration of the elf beneath a mushroom. (Bradbury p. 95). (2 3/8 by 2; 60x50mm). More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co., 1863. 61pp. From the second of six sets of miniature books for children published by Breed, Butler, and Co. in the 1860s. Each set, smaller than the last, comprises six volumes bound in colorful embossed and gilt-stamped cloth. The stories are all written by... More
Buffalo, NY: Breed, Butler & Co., 1863. 61pp. A grandmother tells her grandson the story of a vain little girl in order to comfort him after an accident. Bound in gilt-decorated purple cloth. Covers faded and slightly rubbed, else a fine copy. A.e.g. With the signature of a youthful owner... More
London: Darton, Harvey, & Darton and J. Harris, 1812. 96pp. A pocket-sized reference for children, with full-page engraved plates of each of the forty-eight birds, along with a description of the characteristics and mannerisms of each species. Occasional light internal spotting, else about fine. In a variant binding of olive... More
(Van Nuys, CA: Raheb, Barbara J., 1980). 62pp. One of 300 copies, signed and numbered by Raheb. Illustrated throughout in black & white. Fine in red gilt-stamped pyroxylin. Bookplate to front paste-down. (Bradbury, p. 208). (15/16 by 3/4; 24x18mm). More
(Van Nuys, CA: Raheb, Barbara J., 1981). (46)pp. One of 300 copies, signed and numbered. With full-page black & white illustrations throughout. Fine in gilt-stamped sand-colored pyroxylin. Bookplate on front paste-down. (Bradbury, p. 211). (15/16 by 3/4; 24x19mm). More
(Tarzana, CA): Collector Editions, (1981). (32)pp. One of 300 copies, signed and numbered by Barbara Raheb. Illustrated throughout in black & white. A compilation of children's nursery rhymes and riddles. Soiling to spine, else near fine in a variant binding of decorated paper-covered boards with a paper label. Bookplate to... More
(Van Nuys, CA: Raheb, Barbara J., 1981). (56)pp. One of 300 copies, signed and numbered. Illustrated throughout in black & white. Fine in green gilt-stamped pyroxylin. Bookplate to front paste-down. (Bradbury, p. 213). (1 by 3/4; 25x18mm). More
NP: Minikin Press, 1986. (24)ff. One of 150 copies, initialed by the publisher. Frontispiece and folding map etched by Max Marbles. The famous letter in which Jefferson tells Merriwether Lewis what he expects to be accomplished by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Light rubbing to covers, else fine in cloth-backed... More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, (1982). Three volumes. (48)pp. each. One of an unknown number of deluxe copies, signed by the printer, Miriam Irwin, the illustrator, and the author. Twenty-four dog breeds, from Afghan to St. Bernard, are illustrated and described over the course of this three-volume set. Bound by Hugo Grummich... More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, (1982). (24)pp. A tiny book containing clever sayings about the stock market. Very fine, in dark blue gilt-stamped leather. (Bradbury, p. 159). (1/2 by 1/2; 13x12mm). More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, (1981). (48)pp. One of 50 deluxe copies, signed by everyone involved in the production of the book, including the printer, Miriam Irwin, author, illustrator, and binder. With black & white illustrations by Helen Stephens throughout. Published in honor of Philadelphia on the occasion of the Tricentennial Celebration... More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, (1983). (32)pp. One of 50 numbered copies, signed by the author. With a title-page vignette, full-page illustration, and tailpiece designed by Romilda Dilley. Bound by Hugo Grummich in decorative paper-covered boards designed by Louise Bange, with title stamped in red on spine. T.e.g. Name in ink on... More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, (1982). (24)pp. This tiny, tiny edition contains only Portia's "quality of mercy" speech, quite legibly printed. Fine in tan leather with gilt titling and ornament. (Bradbury, p. 159). (9/16 by 1/2; 14x12mm). More
Bexhill-on-Sea, England: Gordon Murray, 1986. (26)pp. One of 50 copies hand-illuminated and signed by the artist. Illustrated with sixteen tipped-in floral watercolors, each painted against a gold ground. The endpapers show panoramic watercolor landscapes: one a river scene, and one an Elizabethan village. Text printed in brown, with initials hand-colored... More
