Products
Chronicles of Texas, A Sesquicentennial Momento, 1836 - 1986
(San Antonio, TX: Windcrest Press, 1986). (29) pp. 3 x 2 1/4". LIMITED EDITION of 25 copies, this being #19. Blue cloth over boards with metal flag on front cover, postage stamps tipped in, illustrations, signed by the author, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Windcrest Press, 2)
Valentine J. Poska is a librarian by profession who also publishes miniature books under his Windcrest Press Imprint. He also wrote other miniature books published by other publishers. He was an early member of the Miniature Book Society. This little book chronicles many important and trivia related events in the history of Texas, starting with Texas gaining its independence from Mexico and ending with Texas Sesquicentennial (with Dallas Cowboys superbowl wins and a political figures sprinkled in).
Complete Miniature Set of the Sherlock Holmes Stories
Van Nuys, CA: Barbara J. Raheb, 1979 - 1981. Complete 45 volume set, each volume 15/16 x 5/8". Black pyroxylin covers with gilt titles and decorations, mini bookplate on verso of front free endpaper in each volume, all housed in a miniature bookcase with two pewter bookends, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Raheb 141 - 182)
Barbara Raheb published more than 500 miniature books in her lifetime, more than any other U.S. publisher during the 20th century. This set includes the elusive four volumes of Hound of the Baskervilles. Limited edition of 300 per volume, it is very difficult to find a complete set. Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930) was a British writer and physician. Although the Sherlock Holmes stories are his most well-known works and are milestone in the field of crime fiction, he was a prolific writer who also created science fiction/fantasy, humor, romances, poety, non-fiction, and historical stories.
Coyote and the Shooting Stars (Standard Edition)
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2022. Limited edition of 24. 2.5 x 3"; 26 pages. Miniature. Flutter book structure. Paper-bound with scanned images, some of which are additionally hand-colored. Digitally printed on Mohawk Via Vellum. Papers used: Rives BFK, Indian hand-marbled papers, and Japanese Momi. Of the edition, 12 presented in standard paper-covered drop-lid box; 12 presented in a handmade wooden box with a glass lid in which is a hand-beaded coyote and star. Signed and numbered by the artist.
This is a version of the Native American shooting stars creation myth featuring Coyote. He talks a star into lifting him in to the sky to dance. When he grows tired and lets go of the star, he plunges to earth creating a trail of light – a shooting star.
Crumbs From The Master's Table
New York: D. Appleton, 1831. 192 pp. Approximately 2 1/4 x 2 3/4". Blue cloth over boards, paper label on spine, corner bumping with small portion of boards showing through, otherwise in very good + condition. (Bradbury, D. Appleton, 1; Welsh 4865).
Daniel Appleton (1785-1849) began publishing in New York in 1831 and his first imprint was this miniature book. There are two editions of this book, both with 1831 on the title page. One edition has numbered pages and "stereotype edition" on the title page. The other edition has unnumbered pages and no mention of "stereotype edition". It is not possible to know which version came first. This edition was 2,000 copies and was very popular as inspirational books had a good market at that time.
Dancers
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2019. Limited edition of 10, this being #6. 2 x 3 1/2". Accordion structure, digitally printed, collage style with hand-embellished color. Housed in a decorated altoid tin with marbled papers interior and exterior with paper title on lid, secured in a two-colored coordinating felt bag, signed and numbered by the artist, all in fine condition.
From the artist: "Dancers is an accordion fold-out that celebrates dance...a series of ballerinas, carefully cut out, like tiny paper dolls...each shows us a particular style of dancer. Another fun project using marbled papers and collage". Carol Schwartzott is an American book artist. Her work is in the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), Rutgers University Special Collections, the Smithsonian American Art Museum the University of Southern California Special Collections, and the Walker Art Center.
Detti e Motti Triestini
Milan, Italy: Legatoria Conti Borbone dei Fratelli Marchesi, 1989. (32) pp. 1 1/4 x 1 3/4". Marbled paper over boards, 7 illustrations, text in Italian, in fine condition.
The title translates to Triestine sayings and mottos. A lovely well-made miniature book. Since 1873, bookbinding Conti Borbone has been a reference point for luxury objects and bindings.
Dippa, Kippa, Leepa
Pasadena, CA: Tabula Rasa Press, 1981. Miniature book, 2 1/8 x 2"; Letterpress, gilt leather spine, cloth boards, 89 pp, some rubbing to spine. Printed using type Granjon on 100 percent rag, Cranes crest, number 165 of 300 copies, (Bradbury, Tabula Rasa Press 20).
An enchanting tale about a young Greek boy going to American school for the first time and learning the English language. Scarce in the trade. 6 institutional holdings in OCLC.
E-I-E-I-O (Eileen, Eileen, Oh!)
Hyattsville, MD: Rebecca Press and Poole Press, 1992. (20) pp. Approximately 2 3/8 x 2 5/8". LIMITED EDITION of 201 copies. Stiff printed paper wrapprers, stitched. A fine copy. (Bradbury, Rebecca Press, 24)
A collaboration between two well-known miniature publishers, humorous in nature, published for the Conclave 10 of the Miniature Book Society.
Esperanza
(Brooklyn): Soraya Marcano, 1996. (4) pp. Approximately 2 9/16 x 2", oblong. LIMITED EDITION of 3, this being #3. Printed paper over boards with metallic rectangle on cover, accordion fold, illustrated, a short poem in Spanish, signed by the publisher, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Marcano 3)
Soraya Marcano was born in Puerto Rico in 1965 and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. Her work includes mixed media, writing, objects, and digital work. Marcano's scarce miniature artist's books are all written, illustrated, printed and bound by her using various techniques including collagraph, linocut, handmade paper, stenciling, etching, and computer generated images and type. Her mixed media artwork has been exhibited internationally and it is represented in various public and private collections.
Ethical Setting
Dallas, TX: Aredian Press, 2019. Approximately 2 1/4 x 2 1/4". First edition, LIMITED EDITION of 10 copies. Design binding by Patrice Miller of Aredian Press, black cloth over boards with silver spider web design, paper title label on removable band, accordion fold, printed on translucent vellum and Neenah Classic Stipple, signed and numbered by the publisher on the colophon, in fine condition.
This John Dos Passos (1896 - 1970) quotation is from The Theme is Freedom (1956). Patrice Miller's work has found its way to private and university collections, in the states and abroad. Human foibles, nature’s panoply, and artistic cleverness cannot help but inform future work. She continues to bind, and rebind, in Dallas, Texas.