A nest of robins.   A book in 4 boxes by Joe D'Ambrosio.
Unpacking the contents of this bookshelf has already led to several surprises and this is one of them.  This amazing work has been fun to study and research.  I was acquainted with D'Ambrosio's work through several keepsakes, and knew he had produced other more elaborate miniature books. My research led me to a wonderful illustrated article about D'Ambrosio in the California State Library Foundation Bulletin, No. 96, 2010.  Gary E. Strong wrote "Memories of Joe d'Ambrosio, Artist of the Book" which appears on pages 14-17. At the top of the article is a photograph of this work. 
Copy #7 (of 50) is listed for auction by PBA Galleries later this month.
World Cat lists several copies in library catalogs.

The tomato in prose & prosody by G. K. Chesterton was a good choice to follow the herb garden book, but turns out to be a "bit of learned spoofing" on the pronunciaton of tomato - and quite delightful if sometimes over my head in literary references. It was privately printed by Wallace Nethery in 1986.  So far the items from the bookcase have yielded almost all of the miniature books by Nethery listed in Bradbury, plus a good number printed by him for Dawson's Book Shop to be dealt with at a later date. There are three copies of the tomato item as pictured above.  See the list in progress on WorldCat  

http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/miniaturebookshelf/lists/2905654

First in a series of mini reviews

In good taste: a small garden of culinary herbs is a miniature book on the pleasures of a personal herb garden.  Seventy six copies were made at the Wind and Harlot press in 1988.  Since I am fond of herb gardens and have a half dozen full sized books on the subject, I was pleased to select this volume as the first to catalog from the several boxes I brought back recently from California.  A check in Bradbury's 20th century United States Miniature Books told me that Robert Baris designed, printed and bound more than a dozen miniature books.  A Google search reveals that he continues to print fine press books (regular size) at the "Press on Scroll Road"  and also yields a photo of him with one of his presses.  So far, I have located nine additional Wind and Harlot publications in my box.  All are plain and simple on the outside, and elegantly designed and printed on the inside.  Small gardens give pleasure, and "often in a way that far exceeds their size" to quote Mr. Baris. So do small books.  

Index your books on WorldCat!

Enter the title of an item from your collection in the box at the left. Start a list of your books. Add notes. I add one or more per visit to my list from the random titles that come up in the LibraryThing widget. My list-in-progress is public.
Registration is free. Take a moment to create an account, and you’ll be able to:
1. Create a profile
2. Build and maintain public and private lists of books owned by libraries
3. Add your notes, rating and reviews of the items.
You are allowed multiple lists: Things I own, Things I recommend, topical or want lists.
You may then sort your list by author, title or date, and export or print your lists in a variety of formats. Exports may be in HTML, Rich Text, or RIS, and for citation style, you may chose APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA or Turabian.

The fun part is seeing which libraries own copies of your books – in your area, across the country and internationally. You may find one library-owned copy, or one hundred.
The weakness is that if you can not find the book in any library, they do not provide a way to add it to your list yourself. Also, some items in WorldCat have images, but many do not. For images and unique items, LibraryThing is the answer.

Cataloging your books on LibraryThing

This blog was created to demonstrate the LibraryThing widget that appears in the left column. I am playing with an article on LibraryThing for the MBS Newsletter. The words 'my library' are a link to my LibraryThing account. Whenever you go to the Miniature Bookshelf blog, a random collection of covers and titles appears here. When you click on the link, it takes you to the rest of the collection. It is a modest collection compared to many owned by other members of the Miniature Book Society or now in university or museum libraries. The collection grows slowly and without a strong focus. That is what happens when a large part of the collection comes through gifts and trades over many years! I like miniature books about printing, printers, books and type faces. I have collected several miniature editions of 'The Night Before Christmas' or 'A Visit from St. Nicholas.'

Miniature Book Society Conclave in Seattle

Although I missed Grand Conclave XXV in Seattle This month, I do feel connected to the Society. I received a copy of the catalog of the competition, and Mr. Lorson also sent a copy of a keepsake (both are already added to my LibraryThing catalog) AND I received an email from Karen Nyman about next year's event in San Diego already. Thanks - I'll have my membership renewal in the mail this week.