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.
Barcelona: Millà, (1950). Octavo. 58pp. One of 300 copies. Inscribed by the author. Illustrated with a full-color frontispiece depicting the printing and production of miniature books, as well as thirty black & white plates of miniature books, reproduced from pen drawings. A scarce reference book, in Catalan, on miniature books..... More
Frankfurt am Main: Sonderdruck, 1978. Square 16mo. 44pp. "Aus dem Antiquariat" Nr. 2. One of 100 copies, illustrated throughout in black and white. Fine, in tan wrappers. 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
Bradenton, FL: Opuscala Press, 1991. Octavo. xiii, (i), 143pp. A curated and careful selection of essays about miniature books, along with a bibliography of them compiled by Robert F. Hanson. In variant binding "D": black paper over boards with gilt titling. Fine. More
Albany, NY: Fort Orange Press, 1987. Octavo. 156pp. A masterful and complete reference book, with chapters on each century, on each culture, on type, on bindings, cases, collecting, and much more. Fine in blue cloth. More
Cobleskill, NY: Kathryn I. Rickard, 1989. Large quarto. 250pp. One of 500 copies. A card signed by Miss Welsh is attached to the title page. With over 7200 entries plus a short title list, this long awaited volume is the first extensive bibliography of miniature books ever to be published..... More
St. Petersburg: c. 1905-6. 14-carat pendant in the form of a hinged book containing three leaves with fine engraving work. The text begins with a plaintive song which was apparently popular in the salons of pre-Revolutionary Russia, and which closes with the line "Farewell, my invaluable friend/ Do not forget..... More
Watertown, MA: Bromer, Anne & David, 1979. 46pp. One of 150 copies. Signed by Darrell Hyder, the printer. With pen and ink illustrations by Janet Hobbs and an introduction by Herbert H. Hosmer, Jr. This is the text of the original manuscript, which was later shortened considerably. Bound by C...... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1964. 62pp. One of 350 copies. An entertaining account of the quirks, suspicions, and customs that characterize New Orleans. Fine in printed parchment. (2 1/4 by 1 15/16; 59x49mm.). 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. 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
Providence: Livermore & Knight, 1914. 74pp. Printed in red and black. A compact compendium of cocktail recipes for the aspiring mixologist, and one that is quite readable. Bound in green and red paper with gilt titling. A fine, bright copy. All edges red. (2 1/16 by 1 3/4; 52x45mm). More
(Boston): Anne and David Bromer, 1986. (11)ff. One of 160 copies printed at the Firefly Press and illuminated on the title page by Suzanne Moore. This Elizabethan poem was discovered in a manuscript in 1985 and initially attributed to Shakespeare. An elegant miniature bound in handmade paper over boards by..... More
Cincinnati: Mosaic Press, 1991. (46)pp. Illustrated throughout, to punctuate Caniff's reflections on the passage of time. Caniff was an American cartoonist and alumnus of Ohio State University, to which the copyright of this text belongs. Printed by O. Carroll Prewitt and bound by Miriam Owen Irwin. Very fine in red..... 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, OH: Mosaic Press, 1982. 41pp. With illustrations by Lacassa Gunter Fisher throughout, in black and white. Very fine in beige printed boards. (1 by 3/4; 25x20mm). More
Brussels: Libraries de l'Office de Publicité, (c. 1850). Six hand-colored, movable double-engravings; one engraving is half-pasted from the top, another from the bottom, and their remaing halves are pasted together to create a flap that the reader may flip down to see one image and up to see the other..... More
Fullerton, CA: Lorson's Books & Prints, 1987. (12)ff., frenchfold. One of 32 copies with seven original watercolors of pastoral scenes in winter. Signed by the artist, Gordon Murray, who also calligraphed the text of John Clare's poem. Very fine in tan cloth with a watercolor winter landscape set into the..... More
Fullerton, CA: Lorson's Books, 1986. (20)pp., frenchfold. One of 50 copies, numbered, dated and signed by Murray, the designer, artist and printer. Four poems by Housman are illustrated with two full-page watercolor illustrations by Murray and a decoration to the title-page. Bound in olive cloth, with cross-stitched design. Black slipcase..... More
(Bexhill, Sussex): Silver Thimble Books, 1986. (24)pp. One of 50 copies illustrated with original watercolors and signed by the artist. Contains four pictorial watercolor title pages, and the endpapers show panoramic watercolor landscapes. Text includes "Adlestrop," a poem by Edward Thomas (1878-1917), "Four Ducks on a Pond," poem by William..... More
(Bexhill, Sussex): Silver Thimble Books, 1985. (40)pp. One of 150 copies hand-colored and signed by Murray. A tongue-in-cheek love story. With hand-colored frontispiece, initials, and floral ornaments. Mint in cloth with pictorial label. (2 1/8 by 1 5/8; 54x43mm). More
(Bexhill, Sussex): Silver Thimble Books, 1985. (43)pp. One of 50 copies hand-colored and signed by the author/artist. Illustrated throughout. A comic narrative poem, originally written as a puppet play for children. Mint in cloth with pictorial label. Black slipcase. (2 1/8 by 1 5/8; 54x43mm). More
(N.p. Gordon Murray, 1986). (10)ff., frenchfold. From an edition of 50 copies, as regards the text, this is a unique illustrated copy with original paintings by Murray. Signed by the artist. The text is reproduced calligraphy, with a hand-lettered initial to each page, pasted onto a background illustration of colored..... More
Venice: Ongania, Ferd. 1879. Two miniature volumes bound as one. 354; 231; (6)pp. One of 1,000 numbered copies. This is copy number 1, and it is signed by Ongania below the limitation statement. With two portrait frontispieces and numerous, exquisite engraved vignettes throughout. Includes six sonnets which had recently been..... More
