Miniature Books: 4,000 Years of Tiny Treasures

NY: Abrams and The Grolier Club, 2007. Small quarto. 215pp. One of 250 deluxe copies for sale, signed by the authors and including a facsimile of the book in miniature format, together in a specially designed slipcase. Profusely illustrated with more than 260 full-color photographic reproductions including numerous full-page illustrations and two-page spreads. A comprehensive history of the miniature book from the earliest Babylonian clay tablets to modern day creations, organized in chapters treating the major collecting areas: illuminated manuscripts, book arts, religion, almanacs, micro-miniatures, children's books, politics and propaganda, books on life's pleasures, and objets d'art. Anne Bromer and Julian Edison have nearly 75 years of experience in miniature books, Bromer as proprietor of Bromer Booksellers and Edison as the editor of Miniature Book News and a leading collector. The result of such intimate knowledge of the subject is a book that's as informative as it is fun to read, with appeal for both the serious collector and book lovers in general. This deluxe edition also features an award-winning design, having taken first place in the Gift Book category at the prestigious New York Book Show in March 2008. "[The] miniature book was a perfect touch," the judges commented. "Beautiful reproductions [and a] well executed, special slipcase." Tiny Treasures was the basis for two popular exhibits of miniature books in 2007, one at the Boston Public Library, curated by Anne Bromer, and the other curated by Julian Edison at the Grolier Club in New York City. The book is dedicated to the renowned miniature book collector Stanley Marcus, and contains a Foreword by him. Bound in pictorial boards and dust wrapper, with illustrated endleaves. All edges bronzed. Orange silk bookmark. Housed in a matching slipcase, which has a small compartment for the miniature version. This copy has some slight wrinkling to the paper covering the slipcase, so it has been priced less. (Miniature version 3 by 2 7/8; 76x73mm).