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
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
(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
(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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Worcester: St. Onge, Achille J., 1953. 77pp. One of 2,000 copies. Printed at the Chiswick Press in red and black type. With a black & white frontispiece portrait of the Queen. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in full red morocco, with gilt stamping to covers including double-rule borders. Paste-downs and..... More
Worcester, Massachusetts: St. Onge, Achille J., 1953. 77pp. From an edition of 2,000 copies, this is one of forty-six bound in 1960 with a variant frontispiece portrait of Elizabeth II in profile. Printed at the Chiswick Press in red and black type. Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in full red..... More
(N.p. c. 1922). Set of eight cards, printed in red, along with a rules sheet. The cards form a drinking game; all are dealt to a group of eight, and each player must follow the pictorial instruction on the card placed before them. Five cards show a single cocktail, indicating..... More
Paris: Marcilly, (c. 1830). 127pp. A beautiful little book of hours for young people, with engraved title and five plates, the most charming showing David dancing and playing his harp, as he leads the procession of the Ark. Contains the Order of the Mass and various services in French, and..... More
Kadan, Czech Republic: Jana Pribikova, 2015. (38)pp. One of six copies. Signed by Pribikova at the colophon. A concise history of Dutch windmills, with information on their locations, energy production, and various types. Delightfully bound in green morocco with red, yellow, and purple leather strips inlaid on spine over exposed..... More
