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.
Paris: C. Marpon et E. Flammarion, (c. 1880). Two volumes. 176, 248pp. An important miniature and a remarkable early example of fine photographic reduction. Light rubbing to half-leather and marbled boards, else fine. T.e.g. (Welsh 4228; Bondy, p. 97). (2 7/8 by 2 3/16; 74x56mm). More
New Britain, CT: Art Press, 1971. (6)pp., frenchfold. One of 50 copies printed at the Art Press and signed by the proprietor, Robert E. Massmann. Several keepsakes in one, this tribute to Hunter includes a eulogy and a reproduction of a letter from Harrison Elliot, both held in pockets on..... More
Watertown, MA: Bromer, Anne & David, 1978. 30pp. From an edition of thirty-five deluxe copies printed at the Bird & Bull Press and signed by Henry Morris, this is a publisher's copy. The deluxe copies include an extra leaf tipped in titled “The Remedy for Micro-Typographia,” which includes a version..... More
(Leipzig): Edition Leipzig, 1971. (28)pp. Ultra-miniature ABC, accompanied by a trifold information booklet, which describes in German the book's production and contributors. Bound in a gilt-stamped leather binding, and housed in translucent sliding case, together with booklet inside cloth-covered box. Fine. (3x2.5mm). More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1966. xvii, 42pp. One of 375 copies. Various texts by Shakespeare with twelve silhouettes by Paul Konewka. Fine in burgundy cloth over boards, faintly rubbed. (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 60x50mm). 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
(Nappanee): Press of the Indiana Kid, 1972. 24pp. One of 100 copies printed and bound by James Lamar Weygand. A humorous discourse on the re-use of paper currency between the years 1866 and 1943, with a foldout facsimile advertisement from 1906 and an envelope at the back of the book..... More
Nappanee: Press of the Indiana Kid, 1963. (26)pp. One of 100 copies. Weygand's first miniature book recounts the search for and history of the Albion Press he found in England. Illustrated with cuts of different printing presses. Slight split between frontispiece and title page, else nearly fine in pictorial boards..... More
Niagara Falls: Carol Schwartzott, 1994. (14) pp. One of 20 copies, signed by Carol Schwartzott, the designer and binder. A hexagonal book with six bright hand-colored illustrations, bound in hexagonal boards with a hand-colored decoration reminiscent of Islamic tiles. Housed in a hexagonal wooden box, painted in black, gold, red..... 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
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
(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
(Riverside, CA): Bo Press, 2012. (22)ff. According to the printer, one of perhaps half a dozen copies, so limited because of the sheer workload required of its construction. The most famous scenes of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are here rendered as a three-dimensional toy theater, capturing the imagination of..... 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
Worcester, MA: Achille J. St. Onge, 1960-1962. Eight 48mo. issues, comprising Volumes I and II. Each issue 16pp. The first two issues of the first volume are presentation copies, bearing inscriptions from Ruth Adomeit, the periodical's editor. An invaluable resource for the collector of miniature books, this is a complete..... 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
London: Sheppard Press, (1981). Octavo. (xii), 221pp. Long out of print, this is the most important reference on the subject. Dust wrapper shows faint wear, else fine. More
North Clarendon, VT: The Microbibliophile, 2001. Octavo. viii, 357pp. First printing. Contains information on 300 miniature book publishers and over 1,625 miniature books, principally from the collections of the American Antiquarian Society and the Lilly Library. An encyclopedic reference book. Very fine in blue-gray cloth over boards and pale blue..... More
North Clarendon, VT: The Microbibliophile, 2000. Octavo. xvipp.(8)ff., 465pp. First printing. An encyclopedic, indispensable reference book. Scant unobtrusive annotations in pencil throughout, else fine in green cloth over boards and with pale yellow dust wrapper. More
NY: Abrams, 2007. Regular edition. Small quarto. 215 pp. Signed by Edison and inscribed by Bromer on the title page. Profusely illustrated with more than 260 full-color photographic reproductions including numerous full-page illustrations and two-page spreads. A comprehensive history of the miniature book from the earliest Babylonian clay tablets to..... More
