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.
Richmond, VA: Cyclone Books, 2021. (v), 13, (10)pp. From an edition of thirty, this is one of fifteen lettered copies, printed on Twinrocker Da Vinci handmade paper and bound in full leather by Deborah Evetts. Signed by the author, the printer, and the binder. Frontispiece portrait of Manutius. A brief..... 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
Evanston: Press of Ward Schori, 1962. 23pp. One of 100 copies, signed by Ward Schori. Bound in full green leather with richly gilt-stamped front cover with decorative borders and shell motif in the four corners. An extremely fine copy of the first book of the Press. A.e.g. (1 13/16 by..... More
Sheffield: W. Ford for Robt. Taylor, (c. 1840). 21pp. Engraved frontispiece. Fifty-six spiritual desires are here presented in numbered, rhyming couplets. The beseeched blessings are then summarized in a final stanza further emphasizing religious devotion through life's trials. A popular publication in its day, here presented in a miniature edition..... More
Dallas: Somesuch Press, 1983. 24pp. Inscribed by Stanley Marcus, noted miniature book collector and proprietor of the Somesuch Press, to his friend and fellow microbibliophile Donn Sanford. A collection of love poems by Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Browning, illustrated with two United States "Love" stamps and a British stamp in honor..... More
Baltimore: Xavier Press, 1993. 19pp. A timeless essay by Lewis Carroll on the art of correspondence, illustrated with two pasted-in postage stamps promoting letter-writing and a fold-out sample of a letter by the author. In a designer binding by Dominic Riley featuring gilt-tooled envelopes and abstracted stamps in onlays of..... More
Baltimore: Xavier Press, 1988. vi, 18pp. Samuel Clemens's account of his formative time spent as a printer's apprentice, presented as a speech at a dinner for New York printers. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Clemens and a vignette depicting a compositor setting type. This copy is in a designer..... More
Wien: (Lichtdruck der K.K. Graphischen Lehr- und Versuchsanstalt), (1912). 22; (126)pp. A facsimilie of Viennese printer Ludwig Bonnoberger's famous prayer book of 1607, presented to a gathering of bibliophiles at the Imperial Court Library in September 1912. Bound in buff cloth with interwoven silver threads. All edges are gilt and..... More
Paris: Laurent et Deberny, 1850. 250pp. A beautiful edition, printed by Plon Frères in wonderfully clear type. A copy of this edition was shown as a star exhibit at the 1850 Paris Exposition, according to Bondy. This copy has a fore-edge painting by Martin Frost. In fine lines and with..... More
(Marlboro, VT: Tasha Tudor, n.d.). Handmade card, showing an athletic and sweatered chipmunk airborne over a fallen oak leaf, bordered by acorns. This addition to Tudor's "Sparrow Post" series of letters to dolls, announces that the sender is "in pursuit of your heart," with "Be Mine" enclosed in a heart..... More
N.p. n.d. (4) ff. A photo-reduced reproduction, with news of the day on the cover and horse race information inside. Fine. (1 5/8 by 1 1/16; 41x27mm.). More
N.p. n.d. (8) ff. A photo-reduced reproduction of Cleveland's major daily. Fine. (1 7/8 by 1 1/4; 48x31mm.). More
N.p. n.d. (8) ff. A photo-reduced reproduction of the Swiss paper Tages-Anzeiger. Fine. (1 7/8 by 1 3/8; 47x35mm.). More
Oxford: Oxford University Press, (c. 1900). 576pp. An edition of the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer. Bound in full black leather with gilt tooling to upper cover, spine, and inner edges of covers. All edges red. The volume is in such fine and unsullied condition likely because it..... More
Boston: Bromer, Anne & David, 1987. Square 12mo. This collection of designer bindings was assembled over two years' time, commissioning bookbinding artists from around the globe. Fully described and illustrated with color photographs, this catalog is a valuable reference and visual record of the style and skill of each of..... More
NY: Swann Galleries, 1990. Small quarto. 27pp. Auction catalogue from an important sale of miniature books from the collection of H. Marion Soliday, illustrated with black & white photographs. Also includes the Albert Cohen Collection of 19th-Century English Illustrated Books. Fine in printed wrappers. More
London: Bertram Rota, 1987. Octavo. 283pp., + (28)pp. of illustrations in both color and black & white. One of 400 copies. Barker's investigation of the Frederic Prokosch forgeries. In black, cloth-backed boards. Gilt-titled to spine. A little bit of dust and wear, else a fine copy. More
Stockholm: Sällskapet Bokvännerna, 1966. 16mo. 71pp. Bokvännens miniatyrserie 22. One of 700 copies. Black & white illustrations throughout. Swedish miniature book reference, including a bibliography. Bound in wrappers, with some edgewear and toning to spine; else about fine. More
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
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
