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.
Cincinnati: Miniature Book Society, 2003. One of 400 copies. Illustrated throughout with black & white photographs. A tribute to Ruth Adomeit, who was known as the "Grande Dame of Miniature Books." Fine in gilt-titled blue boards. (2 1/2 by 2; 65x52mm). More
Japan: Miyako Akai, 2008. (62)pp. From an edition of 100 copies, this is one of 90 regular copies. An original story about a winter trip written in Japanese by Miyako Akai, who also designed the book, with editing and translation into English by Larry Seidman. Circles have been cut out... More
Marcham, Oxfordshire: Alembic Press, 1995. (64)pp. One of 100 copies. A type specimen book focused on the range of blackletter typefaces that were cast primarily during the Victorian era. Contains an introduction by the proprietor of the Press, Claire Bolton, and a brief history of each typeface represented. Very fine... More
Neutitschein: L. V. Enders'schen K.-A. (c. 1917). (26)pp. A miniature German calendar, printed in red and black. Housed in a dark green leather portfolio, decorated with a gilt-stamped four-leaf clover to the upper cover. Loose in the portfolio, and pencil markings to two pages, else fine. (2 7/8 by 1 3/8; 73x36mm). More
(20)ff. One of the copies in which the pages have been folded vertically and bound into "finger" format. Entirely engraved. Contains the usual lists of royals, officers of state, bank days, Saints' Days, eclipses, and the like. Bound in full dark green morocco. Very fine in a matching slipcase that... More
London: Company of Stationers, (1795). (12)pp. In addition to the months of the year, this almanac gives the chronology of the English monarchy from 1066, a chronology of Mayors and Sheriffs of London, and a table for the weight of English coins. As this is a double width issue of... More
London: Printed for the Company of Stationers, (1822). (21)ff. The pages are entirely engraved, with the arms of the Stationers on the title page. Contains the usual lists of kings, royals, officers of state, bank days, etc. Red leather binding in wallet shape, with flap to close and pocket for... More
London: Printed for the Company of Stationers, (1836). (22)ff. The pages are entirely engraved, with the arms of the Stationers on the title page and another coat-of-arms on the second leaf. Contains the usual lists of kings, royals, officers of state, bank days, etc. Black leather binding in wallet shape... More
London: Company of Stationers, (1735). (24)pp. Entirely engraved, with a four-page panorama of London from the South Bank of the Thames, sweeping across the city from St. Paul's Cathedral on the left to London Bridge on the right, with a host of church spires reaching above the buildings below. The... More
(N.p.): Herausgegeben von der Konigl. Preussischen Kalender Deputation, (1816). (26)ff. A finger almanac with twelve fine, stippled copper engravings of the costumes of Abyssinia, India, and Arabia. A fine copy in marbled wrappers and cardboard sleeve. (Welsh 6591). (2 3/4 by 1 1/8; 70x27mm). More
London: Albert Schloss, (1841). 64pp. With portraits of Charles Dickens, Mlle. Rachel, the Princess Royal, Ellen Tree, John Murray, and Herr Standigl. Also contains a calendar, lists of royal birthdays, European sovereigns, Queen's Ministers, the Royal Household, etc. The pages were all engraved on a single steel sheet, then transferred... More
London: Schloss, Albert, (1837). 64pp. "Poetically illustrated" by L.E.L. (Letitia Landon), with portraits of Landon, Queen Victoria, King William IV, Sir Walter Scott, Giulia Grisi, and Mozart. Also contains a calendar and lists of royal birthdays, European sovereigns, Queen's Ministers, the Royal Household, and Scientific Institutions. Tinier and more finely... More
Austin: Amistad Press, (1978). 27pp., frenchfold. Second edition with hand-colored illustrations. One of 188 copies, signed and numbered by the illustrator and printer, Yolanda Carter. Illustrated throughout with circular maps depicting the continents. Also included are illustrations of geographical features, such as the isthmus and peninsula, and a brief list... More
(Austin: Amistad Press, 1981). (20)pp., frenchfold. One of 300 copies, signed by the publisher, Yolanda Carter. A sage anonymous poem that appeared in an Ann Landers column published in the Austin American-Statesman on September 14, 1977. Printed in green. Fine in pale green cloth with printed dust wrapper. (7/8 by 3/4; 22x19mm). More
Austin: Amistad Press, (1979). (30)pp. One of 150 copies, signed and numbered by the illustrator/publisher, Yolanda Carter. A collection of true stories told by Miguel Calderon, a lawyer and ambassador living in Mexico City, with black & white illustrations throughout by Carter. This was Carter's fifth book as the publisher... More
(Austin: Amistad Press, 1978). (56)pp. Revised edition. Illustrated by Yolanda Carter. Done in the style of a phonebook, with "white pages" in the front and "yellow pages" in the rear. Contains legitimate names, addresses, and phone numbers of 95 miniature book enthusiasts in the U.S. and Canada. Fine in white... More
Austin: Amistad Press, 1982. (48)ff. One of 335. Illustrated throughout in sepia, with a few illustrations in color. The book is a miniature version of an article that appeared in the December 1979 issue of the Texas Monthly describing some of the state's "diminutive bests." These include the Houston Astrodome... More
(Austin, TX: Amistad Press, 1977). (40)pp. One of 75 copies. Illustrated throughout in blue and gray. A collection of poems by Martha D. Fletcher, a poet and teacher from Alabama, that reflect on the natural world. Fine in gilt-stamped navy blue leatherette. (Bradbury, p. 4). (1 7/16 by 1 1/8; 36x30mm). More
Austin: Amistad Press, (1983). (40)pp., frenchfold. From an edition of 250 copies, this is one of an unknown number bound in leather, signed by Yolanda Carter. Contains many black & white illustrations of dragons from various cultures, reprinted from the 1981 edition of "Treasury of Fantastic and Mythical Creatures," by... More
South Freeport, ME: Ascensius Press, 2009. 19pp. One of fifty copies, signed by the author, James Lewis, in pencil. The story of the bookplate used by the distinguished collector Estelle Doheney. Tipped in is an example of Mrs. Doheney's bookplate, designed by Rivière & Sons: an elaborately gilt-decorated oval of... More
South Freeport, ME: Ascensius Press, 2009. 19pp. One of fifty copies, signed by the author, James Lewis, in pencil. The story of the bookplate used by the distinguished collector Estelle Doheney. Tipped in is an example of Mrs. Doheney's bookplate, designed by Rivière & Sons: an elaborately gilt-decorated oval of... More
Richmond: Attic Press, 1978. (52)pp. One of 150 copies of this, the last miniature book produced by the Attic Press. Inscribed by Willis Shell, the proprietor of the Press, and with an ALs from him discussing the delivery of this and another of his miniature books. Illustrated by Leslie Geilberger... More
Richmond: Attic Press, 1975. (20)pp. One of 60 copies signed and numbered by Willis Shell, the proprietor of the Press. The first edition of the first miniature book produced at the Attic Press. Handsomely printed with Gothic initials, this amusing poem is illustrated throughout with hand-colored line drawings by Eleanor... More
N.p. (1930). (28)ff. An informative watercolor manuscript describing the wing and rudder markings of aircraft from the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Most of the markings date from around the end of World War I, charting the rise of military aviation. The wing marking included under the description... More
Beaverton, OR: Beaverdam Press, 1981. (20)ff. From an edition of 326, this is one of twenty-six special copies on Hosho paper, with an extra copy of Barry Moser's wood engraved frontispiece portrait of Morris signed by the printer, Earl Enness, and by Barry Moser. A selection of quotations about William... More
