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.
(Los Angeles): William Cheney, 1975. (30)ff. The famous verse from "A Apple Pie, B Bit It, C Cut It," etc. is illustrated with large calligraphic-style letters in this micro-miniature book. It is the smallest book printed in California and was executed by William Cheney for Dawson's Book Shop. A very..... More
(Van Nuys, CA): Barbara J. Raheb, 1979. (80) pp. One of 300 copies. With illustrations throughout. Very fine in dark green gilt stamped pyroxylin. (13/16 by 5/8; 25x17mm). More
Wein (Vienna): Weidman, J., (1886). (68)pp. Begins with eleven portraits of famous women, including the ballerina Fanny Elssler, the opera singer Amalie Materna, and the actress Charlotte Wolter, each accompanied by a caption. The rest of the almanac provides charts of saints' days, a list accounting the number of years..... More
(Vancouver): Heavenly Monkey, 2004. 20ff. One of 55 copies. A near-miniature flipbook printed on the rectos only, produced as a Christmas keepsake for subscribers of Heavenly Monkey, illustrated with a flying dove by Kara Sievewright. The instructions direct the reader to "Flip the bird," which, when followed, cause the dove..... More
(Watertown): Anne & David Bromer, 1979. 19ff. From an edition of 125 copies signed by the artist, this is one of twenty-five in the first binding by Sallie Ruff. Illustrated with images of fifteen exotic animals, including the panda, the koala, and the Siberian tiger. Mint in boards hand-painted in..... More
(Vienna): K.K. Hofbibliothek, (1912). 22; (126)pp. A facsimile 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 gauffered, with two indented circles..... 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
(Exeter, NH): C. Norris & Co., 1812. 142pp. A charming thumb Bible with significant stories told in prose followed by supplements with references to verses. Bound in full brown leather with gilt decorations to spine and covers, including the monogram "E. L." to upper cover. Rear flyleaf torn and small..... More
(62)pp. A selection of woodcuts and other artwork, most in black and white, completed by Andrusko for various publications in the 1970s. With references in Hungarian on facing pages. Bound in full blue cloth with gilt title and border to upper cover. Tiniest traces of rubbing to corners, else fine..... More
Tokyo: Toppan, 1979. Three micro-miniature volumes: Birth Stone, Language of the Flowers, and Zodiacal Signs. Together set into a leather-covered sleeve, which is then housed with a magnifier in a custom matching box, the lid of which has a red and blue design evocative of the red and blue covers..... More
(Tarzana, CA): Barbara J. Raheb, 1999. (61)pp. One of 100 copies. Lavishly illustrated, and hand-colored in gold and jewel-like colors, with images and descriptions of creatures both real and mythical. Mint in full brown morocco, with gilt motif to upper cover and titles. (1 1/16 by 7/8; 28x22mm). More
London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, (c. 1915). 702pp. An unabridged Book of Common Prayer. Gorgeously bound in maroon morocco with a hallmarked Birmingham silver plaque affixed to the front cover, featuring five cherubs. Very fine. A.e.g. (Bromer/Edison, p. 81). (2 1/8 by 1 7/8; 53x47 mm). 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
(N.p. Jo Anna Poehlmann, 1996). (55)pp., frenchfold. One of 100 copies. This ABC is filled with twenty-six terms for the cigar afficionado. Illustrated with cigar labels corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. "F is for full-bodied." "H is for hand-rolled." Bound in dried tobacco leaves over boards. When the..... More
A nineteenth-century French solid gold enamel binding containing five bone leaves. First appearing around 1820, the carnets de bal were used to record the order of an evening's dances, as well as the name of the partner for a particular dance. This opulent example is decorated with a leaf border;..... More
Dallas, TX: Somesuch Press, 1982. 11pp.; (20)ff. One of 800 copies, signed by D.G. Kelley and Susan Acker, who printed the book at the Feathered Serpent Press. With seventeen stamps from such places as Christmas Island, Guyana, and Morocco. Fine in gold-stamped red leather. Housed in a green illustrated paper..... 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
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
Collingswood, NJ: Washburn, William Lewis, 1931. 62pp. One of 61 copies, of which this is number 2. Inscribed by Washburn at the front. A miniature ABC with a letter on each page printed in red, with a girl's name beneath, followed by numbers and an abbreviated story of the little..... More
Tilton, NH: Hillside Press, 1973. 50pp. From an edition of 250 copies, this is the first, with a special inscription from the printer, Frank Irwin, to veteran book dealer Sam Murray on the limitation page. The Preface discusses the ancient source of these fables, the Panchatantra, its translations into Arabic..... More
Philadelphia: Conrad Zentler, 1811. (vi), 106pp. Engraved frontispiece, plus nine further engravings, each depicting biblical scenes, such as the ascension of Elijah and the birth of Christ. A famous Thumb Bible; according to Bradbury, the first foreign religious miniature book printed in America. Originally bound in red leather, this copy..... More
New Britain, CT: Art Press, (1983). (8)pp. From an edition of 300 copies, this is one of 59 numbered and hand-colored, in commemoration of the printer Robert E. Massman's birthday. Illuminated initials precede Sherman's calligraphy, which here presents a title page in Spanish and a Latin gimmick poem, which requires..... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1968. xi, 42pp. One of 250 copies. Illustrated throughout with woodcuts replicated from seventeenth-century originals. Very fine in gilt-stamped black morocco. (2 5/16 by 2; 58x51mm). 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
NY: B. Shackman & Co., Inc., 1993. (40)ff. A charming flip book, in which a daring roadster jumps over a bus and six other cars. Bound in illustrated wrappers, all black and white. Minor rubbing to edges and few spots of foxing to top edge, else near fine. (1 1/2..... More
