W. [William] Mason

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.

Mike Mansfield, Earl Warren, et al.

New Britain, CT: J.L.Kapica, 1964. 30 pp. Approximately 2 1/2 x 2". LIMITED EDITION, although this is not one of the 50 numbered copies. Black leather, gold lettering, a.e.g., marbled endpapers, portrait frontis. A near fine copy. Not in Bradbury.

Contributions by Mike Mansfield, Earl Warren, and John McCormack.

Peter & Donna Thomas

Santa Cruz, CA: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1992. 97 pp. Approximately 2 x 2 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies, this being #195. Brown leather spine with two bands 1/4 bound over slightly worn marbled boards, gilt title on spine with a little wear, letterpress on publisher's handmade paper, illustrated by Donna, Tanya, and Suzanne Thomas, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Thomas 41; P&D Thomas Bibliography A73)

A lovely binding and an interesting book with an introduction that details the start of the business and collaboration with others while learning their craft. Black and white illustrations throughout and a bibliography of their various miniature and larger books made by Peter and Donna Thomas from 1978 - 1991.

Joseph Wolf

Chicago, IL: Doris. V. Welsh, 1956. 33 pp. Approximately 1 1/2 x 1 7/8". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies. Gold printed paper boards, 3/4 bound with black cloth, printed title label on spine, hand-colored illustrations, minor edge rubbing, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Petit Oiseau Press, 7).

Doris Welsh was probably the greatest authority about miniature books in the second half of the 20th century. She collected, wrote about, and published miniature books entirely by herself. Born in 1907 in Pittsburgh, and after receiving her A.B, B.L.S. and M.S. degrees from different colleges, she eventually joined the Newberry Library in 1947 as cataloguer. She remained at the Library until 1970 when she retired. She started publishing her own books in 1952. (MBS newsletter, 11/2013). This book was hand set, printed & bound by Doris Welsh. This interesting little book provides an overview of the history of heraldry and touch on succession, women, and English vs. American heraldry.

Patrice & Chris Miller

Dallas, TX: Aredian Press, 2016. Approximately 3 x 2", oblong. First edition, LIMITED EDITION of 20 copies, this being #4. Design binding by Patrice Miller of Aredian Press, Gold and black checkerboard paper over boards, traditional stab binding, beautiful black and gold endpapers, Japanese mulberry paper, signed and numbered by the author on the colophon, fine condition.

Overwrought by grade-schoolers and wanna-be poets, the haiku has been abused unintentionally for far too long. First attempted to distract themselves during an excruciating flight, the authors acknowledge that the haiku in its purest expression is both lyrical and majestic. These are neither, but offer commentary on modern life.

Holy Bible. New Testament.

Tokyo: Japan Bible Society, 1982. Black leather cover with blind stamped title and decorations, 27 x 34 mm, 409 pp., printed by photo offset at Toppan Printing Co., miniature bookplate and bookstore labels present, Japanese text, slipped into in a gold metal case with with red and gold cross decoration and chain. All housed in a red velveteen box with magnifying glass and brochure. Limited to 1,000 copies. The complete package, including original manufacturer's packaing box, all beautifully executed and in fine condition.

The Toppan Printing Company in Japan has long been printers of the world's smallest books with many Guiness Book World Record holders.

Anonymous

Munich: Waldmann and Pfitzner, 1952. Approximately 5 x 5 mm. Red leather binding with gilt decorations on covers, housed in a Plexiglass case with an inset magnifying glass, printed in 4-point type in nine languages: English, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish, in fine condition. (Bromer & Edison, P. 117)

This book was part of a 4 volume collection called "Die kleinsten Bücher der Welt" which translates to The Smallest Books in the World. These were commissioned by Walter Schatzki, a Jewish bookseller who settled in New York City in 1937 after fleeing Nazi Germany. He is sometimes attributed as the publisher. Schatzki became an authority on rare children's books and assembled one of the most famous catalogs of children's books ever created by an American bookseller.