GULLIVER'S VOYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG and LILLIPUT by Jonathan Swift

Gulliver’s Voyage to Brobdingnag and Lilliput by Jonathan Swift 

First edition; No. 60 of 1500 sets. Initialed by designer Bruce Rogers in each volume. Both BIG and SMALL are combined into a single slipcase by The Limited Editions Club (1950). Small size: 2.5" x 3-5/8":

Prov. Jeffrey H. Marks Bookseller

ACHILLE J. ST. ONGE

Achille St. Onge (1913–1978) was a publisher of miniature books from Worchester, Massachusetts. St. Onge began publishing miniature books as a hobby in 1935, and by the time he stopped publishing in 1977, he had created 48 miniature books,^[1] which are prized by collectors. 

St. Onge's publications are known for their uniformity of size and elegance and clarity of design. He oversaw every aspect of the books, and collaborated with many prominent printers, presses, type designers, and binders. Some of these include the Merrymount Press, binders Sangorski & Sutcliffe, printer and papermaker Daniel Berkeley Updike, and book designer and typographer Bruce Rogers.^[2] St. Onge published traditional, often revered texts, such as famous speeches by presidents, classic short stories and essays, sermons, eulogies, and brief biographies of famous historical figures.^[3]

A miniature book published by St. Onge was the only book taken on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, and was thus the first book on the moon.^[4] It was a copy of Robert Hutchins Goddard: Father of the Space Age (1966). The book's colophon states, "One thousand nine hundred twenty six copies of this book were printed by Joh. Enschedé en Zonen, Haarlem, Holland, and bound by Proost en Brandt N.V., Amsterdam, Holland to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the launching of the first liquid-propelled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts, March 16, 1926."^[5]

--From Wikipedia 

California on United States Postage Stamps by Francis J. Weber (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1975). Size: 2.25” x 3.25”

The Essence of Aspen by Esther K. Beamer (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, MA, 1976). Size: 2-1/8" x 2-7/8"

63 pages letterpress by Enschede; the author’s statements about Aspen are reflected in the outstanding design of this book: clear blue skies, very white snow and silver icicles; all edges gilt in silver

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: The Song In His Heart by Kenneth A. Bernard (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, MA, 1970. 2 copies). Size: 2-1/8" x 3"

Thanksgiving Day Proclamations by Wilbur L. Cross (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1963). Size: 2" x 2-5/8"

Inaugural Address of Dwight D. Eisenhower (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1954). Size: 1-7/8” x 2-3/16”

33 pages letterpress by the Chiswick Press on handmade rag-wove paper; decorative endpapers; frontispiece photograph of Ike

Robert Hutchings Goddard 1966 Father of Space Age (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1966). Size: 2" x 2-7/8"

ELEGY Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1960). 27pp. Size: 1-5/8" x 2-3/8” [One thousand copies of this book were printed using Lutetia type by Joh. Enschede en Zonen, Haarlem, Holland and bound by Proost and Brandt, Amsterdam. Paper by Cartiere Enrico Magnani Pescia (Pistoia) Italy.

     Frontispiece portrait of Gray is printed in olive as are the four illustrations in the tex. Bound in full blonde calf, Cover title in gold calligraphic type. Gilt edges. Frontispiece portrait of Gray, printed in olive, as are the four illustrations in the text. 45 pp. 2-3/8″ x 1-5/8″. B20th 17/123

     Bonus: Literary Anniversaries 5p Stamp (1971) Thomas Gray (Death Bicentenary) included.]

Magna Carta of King John AD 1215 (1965. X/1,250). 27pp. Size: 2-1/8” by 2-7/8"

THE EULOGY TO UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT F. KENNEDY by Edward M. Kennedy (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1968. X/2,000). 27pp. Size: 2-5/8” by 1-7/8"

The Sermon on the Mount (from the Gospel of Saint Matthew) (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1973). Size: 1-7/8” x 2-5/8”

Notes From Four Cities 1927-1953 by David McCord (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1969). Size: 1-7/8” x 2.75”

The Addresses of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1977. Size: 1-7/8” x 2.75”

SHELLEY by A.C. Swinburne (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1973). Size:  1-7/7” x 2.75”

Wild Apples: History of the Apple Tree by Henry David Thoreau. Illustrations by Bruce Rogers (Achille St. Onge, 1956). Size: 2” x 3”

95pp. Tan leather with blind-stamped design and gilt title. One of 950 copies designed by Bruce Rogers. Thoreau's well-known essay on the varieties, habitats, and habits of wild apples and crabapples. One of the most sought after of St. Onge's publications, and one of only two miniature books designed by Bruce Rogers. (Massmann 14; Bradbury, p. 253)

In the United States Senate 1834 by Daniel Webster (Achille J. St. Onge, Worcester, 1952). Size: 2-1/8” x 3-3/16”

25 pages by Anthoensen Press for the New Hampshire Historical Society; frontispiece portrait of Webster; extracts from one of Webster’s great speeches of 1834 in commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of his death (Notes by Karen Nyman)

 

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Group Hug:

POEMS-FOR-ALL

Go HERE for the website for Poems-for-all. It's also worth seeing this lovely YouTube video about the press HERE.

Unless stated otherwise, all books are sized 1-5/8" x 2"

1102 (2014): Regole Della Poesia (Poetry Rules) by Alessandra Bava

1375 (2016): Oranges by Alina Borger

1336 or 1337 (2015): Tree Stories by V.S. Chochezi

1371 (2017, 2015): Ear Buds by Eve Gaal

1587 (2020, 2017): The Afterlife of a Poet by Bill Gainer

2026 (2020): breathe we by Juan Felipe Herrera

19 (2021, 2016): The Xibalba Arcane: No.13 by Jack Hirschman

2036 (2020): Path by Jack Hirschman

1160 (2021, 2013): Red Leaves by Jack Hirschman

2037 (2020): Winter Solstice by Jack Hirschman

833 (2007, 2020): Within by Richard Kostelanetz

1673 (2017, 2018): The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

1 (2001, 2021): The Bells of the Cherokee Ponies by d.a. levy

1801 (2018, 2019): Cheating at Monopoly by Katie Manning

1275 (2015): “All my life,” by Alice Notley

1301 (2015): Heart Thoughts by Brianna Lea Pruett

1985 (2020): Blooming by Kim Shuck

1984 (2020): Bridges and Crossroads by Kim Shuck

1986 (2020): Stories of the Great Blue Heron by Kim Shuck

1180 (2014): The Madness of Kong by William Trowbridge

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I'm also grateful to Robert Hansen and PFA for publishing me. My latest PFA book is No. 2056 (June 2021):

April 9 in DoveLion

My PFA book presents an excerpt from my normatively-sized first novel DoveLion: A Fairy Tale for Our Times (AC Books, New York, 2021):

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Three by Melissa Eleftherion:

1382 (2021): green glass asterisms

1383  (2021: the leaves the leaves

1390 (2021): abalone

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POEMS FOR UKRAINE

INSIGHT EDITIONS

A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Wisdom from the Tao Te Ching (Mandala Publishing, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

 

A Thousand Suns Rising: Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita (Mandala Publishing, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE: Wisdom from the New Testament (Mandala Publishing, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

The Lord is My Shepherd (Mandala Publishing, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Marvel/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2”

HARLEY QUINN (Marvel/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

 

MOANA (Disney/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2"

THE DARK ARTS (Harry Potter) (Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2” 

From the Films of Harry Potter: Mini Book of Spells and Charms (Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 2.5” x 3.5”

Spider Man (Marvel/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2”

Star Wars: The Tiny Book of Jedi (Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2”

Star Wars: The Tiny Book of Sith by S.D. Bente (Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2”

Star Wars: The Tiny Book of Legendary Women (Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2022). Size: 1.5” x 2”

THE LITTLE MERMAID (Disney/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

Lilo and Stitch by Brook Vitale (Disney/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2”

MANDALORIAN: The Tiny Book of Grogu (Disney/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2"

Tangled (Disney, 2022). Size: 1.5" x 2"

The Tiny Book of Scarlet Witch and Vision by Wanda Maximoff and Vision Comics (Marvel/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2022). Size: 1.5” x 2”

Winnie the Pooh by Brook Vitale (Disney/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2021). Size: 1.5” x 2”

 

WONDER WOMAN (Marvel/Insight Editions, San Rafael, 2020). Size: 1.5” x 2”

DANCE OF TREES by BETH BAUGH

We have always wanted a birch-covered book for the Miniature Book Library and are very grateful this wish was fulfilled by San Francisco-based artist Beth Baugh! Here is her book-length poem, DANCE OF TREES, in its decorated box as we opened it:

The lovely book contains a poem which we feature here in its entirety (click on all images to expand):

Here are some of the lovely interior contents:

We asked Beth to share some background to this wonderful project and she said:

This poem came to me before, during, and after the California wildfires in the summer of 2020. I wrote the final section as ash rained down around me, and as several of my friends and family members were forced to flee fires in Northern and Southern California. I have favorite trees in many places, and when Big Basin burned, I mourned the loss of those giant redwoods, then rejoiced as it was discovered that many of them had survived. 

The poem’s lines are interspersed with leaf drawings and rubbings, some as faint as the ash-ghosts of trees lost in the fires. I had grand plans to make a more complex book cover out of tree bark and moss, but pandemic inertia intervened. Then one day on a walk through the neighborhood I found a paper birch tree with strips of bark peeling off like the pages of a book. The birchbark cover echoes the lokta-bark pages of the tiny Nepali book Eileen gave me to fill. 

Beth also shares that the paperback birch used is from the lovely lotta--"less papery-looking because they use the inner bark but the flowers sell like heaven." Long ago, Beth says, she lived in Nepal and spent time making paper there:

We are delighted and grateful to receive the results of Beth's artistry. Thank you Beth! And here's some more information about her:

Beth Baugh is a teacher, singer-songwriter, photographer, and mom living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently social-distancing with 3 generations of family under one roof and practicing radical acceptance while still trying to keep one step ahead of the local fauna in the garden.