Booksby Press

Booksby Press I’m a small press dedicated to the art of miniature books. http://booksbypress.com

Booksby Press is a private press that specializes in producing new, limited run miniature books. I am also interested in the history of miniature books and miniature book collecting. At the website I have short descriptions of interesting books in the gallery and longer articles about historical topics as well as my adventures in publishing.

03/04/2025

Booksby got a new toy...erm, tool last weekend. I've wanted a good paper cutter for almost as long as uve been making miniature books but the ones I'd found in the past were either too big, too expensive, or too far away. This one is the Goldilocks of paper cutters for me. It wasn't too expensive, a perfect fit for the space I have and only about an hour and 45 minutes away. When I contacted the seller he too a look at my page, liked what he saw, and offered it to me for almost nothing. I'll be getting it serviced soon to address a couple of small issues with it then it should be good to go for the rest of my life.

After a few hiccups both upcoming books are almost ready for the public!Unfortunately, I was unable to make the red imit...
02/17/2025

After a few hiccups both upcoming books are almost ready for the public!

Unfortunately, I was unable to make the red imitation suede work with the heavy foiling so I'm switching to a deep burgundy (sample is black) bonded leather that takes the foil much nicer. I'll redo my jig to center the artwork on the cover then I'll be ready to go.

I also just got the final go-ahead from the author for "The Reluctant Enthusiast" and am only waiting for the marbled papers for the covers to start on Book Culture IX.

There are three new books waiting in the wings and I've still got to do the other two micro-miniature spooky books so I won't lack for something to do for a good long while.

2024 was a very difficult year at Booksby but we made it through and are hoping for a better 2025. In that vein then I'd...
02/05/2025

2024 was a very difficult year at Booksby but we made it through and are hoping for a better 2025. In that vein then I'd like to introduce you to a few upcoming books.

First is the 9th book in the Book Culture series, "The Reluctant Enthusiast" by MBS member David Reichert. In it he tells his story of working with and falling in love with miniature books during his years working at Dawson's Book Shop. I'm sending the final proof out to him tomorrow and I'm waiting on the marbled papers for the covers so I'm hoping to have this one out in early March.

The next book is "The Inaugural Addresses of Donald John Trump". The editing and proof copy are done. I'm only waiting on the die for the cover art, hopefully arriving by the end of this week. I'm hoping to have this one out before February is over.

The final book with an eminent release is the very limited edition of blank journals covered with Andrea Boltresz handmade miniature pastepaper. I am hoping to have these ready by the beginning of next week.

In addition to these, I have another four books in the design stage that I am hoping will see the light of day by this summer, we shall see.

A happy mini book story. Last week someone commented on one of my posts from July about dollhouse sized books, so I expl...
11/02/2024

A happy mini book story.

Last week someone commented on one of my posts from July about dollhouse sized books, so I explained about 1:12 scale and Barbie scale which is 1:6. Turns out her daughter has a dollhouse for dolls the size of old Victorian porcelain dolls! I have never seen a house for 18" dolls before so she sent me some pics, and we talked about my regular miniature books. She ended up getting a story book for her doll Logan, and I sent a few extras as I always do. Well she got the books today and sent me some pics. I've never seen my books in a scale setting and am overwhelmed by how perfect they look in Logan's hands and on his desk. 😭🥰

In the end this is why I do what I do. I made a new friend and brought a little joy to someone. It just doesn't get better than this!

Today we'll breeze past J.H.S., Betty John, Johnnycake Press and Juniper Press, each with one entry, to spend some time...
11/02/2024



Today we'll breeze past J.H.S., Betty John, Johnnycake Press and Juniper Press, each with one entry, to spend some time with thr three cats Juniper, Von and Phitzer.

Juniper Von Phitzer is both pseudonym and press name for Lloyd L. Neilson of San Francisco. Between 1985 and 1999 he produced at least 64 miniature books and continued publishing till about 2012.

There are currently ten JVP books on the shelves at Booksby. I'll show the title pages and colophons of each to give you an idea of the scope of his work.

I do have to note one of them in particular. "Cats in Charge" was one of the first miniature books to make it to my shelves and has always been a favorite. Unfortunately, I let Sweatersheen read it once and ever since she's thought that she is the cat in charge. 😂

Next time we'll take a look at Kaycee Press.

Sometimes I plan what I'm going to post and Sometimes posts make themselves. In checking my notifications I saw that som...
11/01/2024

Sometimes I plan what I'm going to post and Sometimes posts make themselves.

In checking my notifications I saw that someone had tagged the Miniature Book Society's FB page on a post, so I went to check it out. Turns out it was a post about micro calligraphy that a young gentleman is creating in Poland. His writing is really tiny! I liked it so much he's going to do a short poem for me. Here's his pic from his post. I'll share my own when I get what he's making for me. ☺️

I had wanted to introduce these two new Booksby Press releases a couple of weeks ago but some technical difficulties wit...
10/31/2024

I had wanted to introduce these two new Booksby Press releases a couple of weeks ago but some technical difficulties with the dustjackets held up production. We did get them out in time for Halloween anyway.

Here then is Patrick Hansma's third annual miniature spooky book, "Halloween Stories I" and the first dollhouse spooky book, the 1:12 reissue of "Knowing Good and Evil." Look for "Ashtophet" and "Halloween Stories I" to come out in 1:12 in the near future.

Both are available at Booksbypress.com right now. ☺️

10/31/2024

For Halloween we have Rebecca Press's first miniature book, "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by American great, Washington Irving. Published in 1983, it measures 2⅜"×3" oblong and has 120 pages. It is letterpress printed by Burntcoat Press with illustrations by Sarah Chamberlain. One of the 35 deluxe copies, this one is in blue leather with orange onlays and black stamping, and matching leather slipcase. The finest miniature marbled endpapers I've ever seen are by Christopher Weimann. Entire design by Rebecca Saady Bingham. This is copy #29 of 150. While this one has speckled edges, there are nine copies out there with hidden fore edge paintings by the illustrator.

Happy Halloween! 🎃🎃🎃

Now that the Microbibliophile 100+ has been released we are working on a companion volume that will include some type of...
10/30/2024

Now that the Microbibliophile 100+ has been released we are working on a companion volume that will include some type of index, possibly author and title alphabetically, and any other books we missed in the initial survey. Pictured here are eight books that are not currently in the bibliography. There are two from the Soviet Union, one from East Germany, and five from the US.

Interestingly, one is by REM and the another by Booksby Press. Both existed before the MB 100+ project and should have been included but both Jim and I missed them. Chalk it up to "can't see the forest through the trees."

We now have 161+8 miniature books about miniature books but are looking for more. If you know of any please give me a heads up so it can be added to the bibliography.

Today we have another unusual book, this time from the Dawsons. This is "Susan & Parker Smith" a sort of wedding announc...
10/27/2024

Today we have another unusual book, this time from the Dawsons.

This is "Susan & Parker Smith" a sort of wedding announcement. Published in 1970, it measures 2⅛"×1⅝" and is bound in gilt grey leather by Bela Blau. What makes it unusual is the content. It has a frontis showing Susan and Parker on their wedding day and three letterpress printed pages by William Cheney. The rest is all wrapping paper samples gathered by Mary Helen Dawson from shower and wedding gifts for Susan and Parker. It's a lovely and clever remembrance of their special day. Its 24 samplesare also a nice little example of the design sensibilities of the early 1970s that would otherwise be difficult to find today. The most amazing thing about this book is how well those disposable papers have held up over the past 54 years. A few of the papers have just the slightest discoloration at the very edge, the rest being as fresh as they were the day the presents were opened.

While I'm going through the mail, I might as well mention this one that came last week.I can't remember if it was April....
10/26/2024

While I'm going through the mail, I might as well mention this one that came last week.

I can't remember if it was April.of 2024 or 2023 that I requested these helpful bookmarks, but it's been so long I almost forgot about them. This is version 3.0 of the bookmark release in July of 2023.

It's the Winterthur Museum's Poison Book Project bookmark. The bookmark is a quick reference of characteristics of books containing arsenic, and color swatches of the cloth an papers used.

If you're concerned that you may have dangerous books on your shelf or are just interested in learning more visit their website and get your own handy bookmark.

https://sites.udel.edu/poisonbookproject/

Look what Mr. Postman brought me today! In one envelope was the October 2024 MBS Newsletter and 2024 competition catalog...
10/26/2024

Look what Mr. Postman brought me today! In one envelope was the October 2024 MBS Newsletter and 2024 competition catalog! 🥰

Both publications are valuable resources that will join others of their kind on my shelves.

It is worthy to note how slim the competition catalog is this year with only 9 entries, 3 of them from Booksby. 😔 If you are involved in making miniature books in any capacity (author, illustrator, printer, binder, publisher, etc...) please consider entering your books in next year's competition. Entering gains your books exposure to the most dedicated collectors in the world and offers you the opportunity to have your books placed in the permanent collection at the Lilly Library in Indiana.

A special thanks goes to Kathy Roberts and Cynthia Cosgrove for taking over the editorship of the newsletter. It's a huge and important job. I have to say that I can once again enjoy just reading it now that that weight is no longer on my shoulders. Well done ladies! 🥰

Both publications are available to members of the Miniature Book Society. To join follow this link and start enjoying the benefits today!

https://mbs.org/join

Address

Parma, OH
44129

Telephone

+12169657590

Website

https://booksbypress.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Booksby Press posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share