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.
Marcham, Oxford: Alembic Press, 1995-1997. Six volumes, each (28)pp. One of 100 numbered copies. Titles include: Old Style Italic Type Designers, Playbill Type Faces, Round Serif Typefounders, Sans Condensed Typographic Words, Winchester Type Casting, and Sans Bold Italic Parts of the Press. Each little book highlights a different type face..... More
(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
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
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
(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
London: Dean's Rag Books, (c. 1910). (22)pp. Illustrated throughout with color pictures of Bettina and her canine compatriots. The story recounts the moral growth of Bettina as she learns to embrace humility and friendship with Jim, the butcher's dog. Bound in cloth-backed boards. Some soiling to exterior, else near fine..... 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
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
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
Watertown, MA: Anne and David Bromer, 1977. (24)pp., frenchfold. From a deluxe edition of twenty-five copies, signed by the illustrator, Sarah Chamberlain, this is the publisher's copy. With an extra suite of ten artist's proofs of wood engravings, each signed by Chamberlain, as well as an original woodblock by Chamberlain..... 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
Santa Cruz, CA: Peter and Donna Thomas, 1990. From an edition of 200 copies, this is one of twenty-five deluxe copies with a miniature watercolor. The biography and footnotes to the text were written by Peter Thomas, and the illustrations were cut by Donna Thomas. Includes a seventeenth century paper..... More
NY: Hurst & Company, (c. 1880). 192pp. Twenty-five engravings—one frontispiece and each of the remaining twenty-four introducing a chapter—depicting significant scenes from the Bible. Among them appear Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Pharaoh being swallowed up in the Red Sea, and Peter's denial of Christ. The volume..... More
Evanston: Schori Press, (1966). 60pp. One of 196 copies. The first miniature book of carols, containing the words to twelve of the most popular carols. Very fine in gilt-decorated red morocco with a color-printed label showing the Holy Family on the front cover. A.e.g. (2 3/8 by 2; 60x51mm). (Bradbury..... 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
Mexico City: Imprenta de D. Juan Bautista de Arizpe, 1817. (ii), 10pp. A remarkable miniature devotional, with a hymn, prayer, and meditation based on the work of Father Antonio Nutal. The printer, D. Juan Bautista de Arizpe, began printing in 1807 and enjoyed a prolific career, with WorldCat recording nearly..... More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1963. 28pp. One of 325 copies. Dee was an astrologer, book collector, and mathematician, and a friend of Elizabeth I. Fine in cloth-backed decorated boards. (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 58x47mm). More
Franklin, NH: Hillside Press, 1963. 28pp. One of 325 copies. Dee was an astrologer, book collector, and mathematician, and a friend of Elizabeth I. Fine in cloth-backed decorated boards. (2 5/16 by 1 15/16; 58x47mm). 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
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
Madrid: (c. 1860). 122pp., + six plates. The Catholic mass is here reduced to its essential points, understandable to children. The plates illustrate familiar scenes, such as the Ascension, the Crucifixion, and the woman at the well. In red morocco wallet--style binding decorated with gilt, including a splendid image of..... 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
Tokyo: Toppan, 2012. (22)pp. One of 250 copies. This ultra-microminiature book, published by the Toppan Printing Company for the Printing Museum in Tokyo, was named the smallest printed book in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in January 2013. Printed by intaglio, the .75mm-square book contains black..... More
