Lilliput Press ~New York
(Carol Schwartzott)

Miniature Books

A Brief History of the Quilt (Cabinet Deluxe)
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2022. Edition of 5.

13 x 15 x 4" wooden cabinet with 8 x 10 x 2" book laid in. Shadow box on front of box containing sewing items - spools of thread, quilt sample, thimbles, bobbins with thread, pin cushion with pins and threaded needle, scissor, small glass jars of beads and buttons. Glass cover protects the items. Book with 11 small hand quilt samples as illustrations. Printed with an archival pigment printer on Mohawk superfine vellum. Archival rag mat board for quilt windows. Book bound in green book cloth with layered paper title on front board. Cloth pull for lifting book from box. Box with metal clasp closure. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Carol Schwartzott: "'A Brief History of the Quilt' was first issued in 1996. The National Museum of Women held a yearly competition for women book artists. The chosen book was given a grant to create/print/bind in an edition of 125 copies - 100 to the Museum and 25 held back to the artist. My Quilt book was imagined to be a co-operative adventure, with actual quilt pages made by selected hand-quilters from America. Each of these 'quilt' would be editions in groups of 25 (these were small examples) with enough actual hand quilted examples distributed within the 125 copies. Each of the elected 25 women would each get one book in return for her contribution. These 25 were those designated to the artist. The book was a close win. The committee was not sure I could pull this off. A year or so later I produced the little boxed version of this Brief History, using paper examples rather than fabric.”

In the last two years Schwartzott has been re-examining past projects. A result of this process she created a new miniature “A Brief History of the Quilt” and this large deluxe version. In this deluxe version there are eleven quilt samples in cloth paired with definitions of quilting techniques.
$2,500 Cabinet Deluxe (Last 2 copies)
$225 Miniature version Cabinet Deluxe (Last 2 copies)
$95 Miniature Clamshell box edition

The World is on a Fish's Back
Poem by Natalie Belting
Book design by Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2022. Edition of 6.

4.25 x 4.25"; 14 pages + 4 accordion flag folds. Materials: original broadside LP printed with linocuts; monoprint digitally printed images; Rives BFK, Japanese and decorative papers. Hedi Kyle binding. Signed and numbered by Schwartzott on the colophon. Laid in clamshell paper covered clamshell box with tipped on decorative elements and paper title on spine.

Carol Schwartzott: "’The World Is On A Fish’s Back, Tales of Beginnings’, by Natalie Belding, was published in 1965. My original small edition was produced in 1994, size approximately 8 x 10 with linocuts, and Gocco printed text . I found this book while investigating creation tales, and actually retold her version of Coyote and the Shooting Star for another one-off artists book.

“Years later, 2005, along with Blacks Corner Press, I produced ‘Beyond Ichthyology’, an edition of 15, with 5 cabinet encased books. I used many scans of old fish illustrations in the collages that made up the basis for its art.

“It seems this has been the year for my re-visiting my many dead files of informative notes, and endless art, many used in books that were editions, and some set aside as ideas for prospective pieces. I have always taken the approach, via Joseph Cornell, of discovering / and rediscovering this endless plethora. The joy of finding new meaning within the old….so…with that in mind, and rather limited in my ‘new’ studio space, I decided to enjoy the process of re-inventing the original ‘Fish’s Back’ tale, this time using the overflow of fish illustration from the 2005 book. I had several broadsides left from the ‘Life Is But A Stream’ letterpress issue…The book is a combination of both.

“One of my favorite structures, Hedi Kyle’s accordion fold, simple and fun….with an addition of the little poem by Belting makes up this tiny 4x4”(6) edition. Hands on art, small stitched portfolio of the poem, and fun box complete this edition.”
$150 (Last 2 copies)

The Garden
Life & Literature
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2021. Edition of 12.

7 x 7"; 6 sections, 54 pages. Printed Mohawk #100 Superfine Vellum text, with inserts of Mohawk translucent paper. Printed with a Canon Prisma Ink printer. All illustrations were first printed black, coated with Hannemuhle Permanent Archival fixative and then handpainted with water colors/gouache. Fine detail added with Caran D’Ache watercolor pencils. Eight large and eighteen smaller graphite drawings Text is Cochin with drop caps and headings of Cinzal Decorative. Endpapers are Thai Lokta, box linings are Italion, British Museum and Indian printed papers. Bound with a spacer of Japanese paper between each section. Cloth boards with illustrated paper title on cover. In the edition there are four of each color - celadon, twilight, and eggplant/navy. Laid in drop-lid case. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Carol Schwartzott: "Gardens have always been my passion….I created and submitted ( for a grant) the original 'Gardens In Literature' in 1995. This was a larger version of my tiny Garden book( 1995)….Rejected, the grant book was filed away with other working models.

"Last year, after a long hiatus from Book Arts, I rediscovered my 'Gardens in Literature' and decided it would be fun to re-work the idea….It started with a series of new graphite drawings, many of the flowers and landscapes reminiscent of our property in Ithaca NY."

The text uses extracts from "Lure of the Garden" by Hildegarde Hawthorne, 1911. Schwartzott notes that "although the illustrations were poor quality the essence of her writing was captivating and brought forth many interesting ideas."

      … a garden if the work of man. It requires human care, human companionship, human love, ..
                            ~Hildegarde Hawthorne
$350
$75 miniature version

A Brief History of the Glove
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2020. Edition of 15.

Approximate 4” x 5”x 1”; 46 pages including free end pages. Flutter book construction. Printed on mohawk cover stock using pigmented inks. Illustrations hand-colored with pencils then scanned for printing. One page of sample materials used for gloves. Boards and slipcase are paste-paper. Illustrated papers on pastedowns. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Carol Schwartzott: "'A Brief History of Gloves' is a project that I began about 15 years ago….I have always been fascinated by hands. This book began with my collection of family gloves, handed down to me along with other accessories….a pair of beautiful opera length kid gloves and a pair of lace and net, both worn by my mother as a young woman. It started a journey for me, purchasing several books on history and technique. I began taking notes, checking out museum collections, and searching out all the different types of gloves and their use.

"As usual, things get in the way and I place this project on the side while I deal with other books, selling property, building a new house, moving half a year to Florida, and divesting tons of my studio equipment as I no longer have a studio just for my work. This winter, bored in Florida, I began to work again on the gloves book….and just like that, Covid appears and everyone is 'gloving up' with sterile latex, and I say, Oh Boy…..how can that be? So I proceed with my text and begin to develop my usual thematic approach….history, style, geography, timeline….and another 'Brief History' appears. "A simple fold-out accordion, very much like others in my series, 24 pages, illustrations developed by drawing over photographic images, later hand-colored with pencil."
$125

A Brief History of the Kimono
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2019. Edition of 12.

4” x 4” x 1/2” with digitally printed and hand-colored Japanese prints. Japanese Chiyogami papers. Boxed in a fold-out paper case with plexi rod closure. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Carol Schwartzott: "'Kimono' uses images from the golden years of Japanese prints….Lovely geisha and other images that provide the viewer with a very brief history of the Kimono. The book has sewn segments that pull-out in an accordion to provide access to each folded and stitched segment. Each segment provides a thought statement about the kimono and uses a different chiyogami pattern. The box itself resembles a triangular wing-like design that fold origami-like to cover and protect the little book. A plexiglass rod slides across the cover to hold the flaps together."

"A Brief History of the Kimono" is a return to Schwartzott' s interest in this form of Japanese clothing. The use of paper and design for this new work is just as compelling as her earlier more structural book "Kimono/kosode: a decorative study of the kimono".
$175

A Brief History of the Quilt
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2022. Edition of 20.

3 x 2 7/8", 62 pages. Printed with pigmented/archival ink on Mohawk Vellum. Accordion-fold in flutter construction. Cloth boards with printed title label on spine and quilt collage on front board. Housed in drop-lid box with printed title label on spine and tipped on paper collages on the front of box, interior front board and bottom of box exterior. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Carol Schwartzott: "'A Brief History of the Quilt' was first issued in 1996. The National Museum of Women held a yearly competition for women book artists. The chosen book was given a grant to create/print/bind in an edition of 125 copies - 100 to the Museum and 25 held back to the artist. My Quilt book was imagined to be a co-operative adventure, with actual quilt pages made by selected hand-quilters from America. Each of these 'quilt' would be editions in groups of 25 (these were small examples) with enough actual hand quilted examples distributed within the 125 copies. Each of the elected 25 women would each get one book in return for her contribution. These 25 were those designated to the artist. The book was a close win. The committee was not sure I could pull this off. A year or so later I produced the little boxed version of this Brief History, using paper examples rather than fabric.

"The past two years have been a time of examining some of my projects - some finalized, and others just ideas. I thought it would be fun to re-invent the quilt book in a miniature form. I have been active in the MBS [Miniature Book Society] for the past two years, re-visiting my book roots.

“In this period, I have completed an edition of 20 minis of ‘A Brief History of the Quilt’. Eight of these reside within a wooden cabinet of sorts. The cabinet displays a quilt fragment, and some sewing tools.”

$95 Clamshell box edition
$225 Deluxe edition in wooden cabinet (Last 2 copies)

Coyote and the Shooting Stars
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2022. Edition of 24.

2.5 x 3"; 26 pages. Miniature. Flutter book structure. Paper-bound with scanned images, some of which are additionally hand-colored. Digitally printed on Mohawk Via Vellum. Papers used: Rives BFK, Indian hand-marbled papers, and Japanese Momi. Of the edition, 12 presented in standard paper-covered drop-lid box; 12 presented in a handmade wooden box with a glass lid in which is a hand-beaded coyote and star. Signed and numbered by the artist.

This is a version of the Native American shooting stars creation myth featuring Coyote. He talks a star into lifting him in to the sky to dance. When he grows tired and lets go of the star, he plunges to earth creating a trail of light – a shooting star.

Carol Schwartzott: "'Coyote was originally produced in 1994 as an artist’s book. There were 10 monoprints, each tipped into a large format book following an ‘American Indian’ theme. The spine and cover were hand-beaded.

“This year has been one of visiting some of my older book files and evaluating some of the projects that were just ‘ideas’ at the time. In a storage box I found a beaded spine and two coverboards with a ‘painted Coyote. Years ago I had thought I might do another version of the original book. I had a set of color copies and I used these to create a ‘newer’ version of the original illustrations. I completed the book - bound the block to place inside the board structure.

"As I looked it over, it wasn't working. The illustrations were too large, and the calligraphy was terrible. I ripped it apart and decided that was that. As I do often when working on a project, I let it rest. Then one day, I decided to experiment with cut and pasted images. So I cut up the pages to correspond to the original illustrations but kept them clean and simple. The book was reinvented. Finally I used archival India ink pens for the text.

"The biggest problem was the binding. I had single pages so I used a simple accordion fold, and later added an archival paper edge to make sure the page would hold together. Glued to the back board, this free action of the page allows it to lay flat. The original book had no box. I had several prototypes. These fit perfectly.

"I have recently began re-editioning miniature versions of some of my older books. Having a new limited studio space I am again challenged with completing editions. With that in mind I scanned and reduced the original illustrations, which included handwritten text."

$95 standard in paper-cased drop lid box
$225 Special in wooden box with glass enclosed beaded illustration (Last Copy)

The Garden
Life & Literature
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2021. Edition of 20.

3" x 3"; 72 pages. Printed Mohawk #100 Superfine Vellum text, with inserts of Mohawk translucent paper. Printed with a Canon Prisma Ink printer. Illustrations scanned from original drawings. Slipcased. Signed and numbered by the artist.

This is a miniature version of the artist's book "The Garden".

Carol Schwartzott: "Gardens have always been my passion….I created and submitted ( for a grant) the original 'Gardens In Literature' in 1995. This was a larger version of my tiny Garden book( 1995)….Rejected, the grant book was filed away with other working models.

"Last year, after a long hiatus from Book Arts, I rediscovered my 'Gardens in Literature' and decided it would be fun to re-work the idea….It started with a series of new graphite drawings, many of the flowers and landscapes reminiscent of our property in Ithaca NY."

The text uses extracts from "Lure of the Garden" by Hildegarde Hawthorne, 1911. Schwartzott notes that "although the illustrations were poor quality the essence of her writing was captivating and brought forth many interesting ideas."

      The perfect garden should give something of tis fragrance and beauty to the world at large …
                                            ~ Hildegarde Hawthorne
$75

India's Love Lyrics
Collected & Arranged by Laurence Hope
Book design by Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Carol Schwartzott, 2021. Edition of 25.

Carol Schwartzott: "India’s Love Lyrics” was compiled and translated by Laurence Hope. The 1906 edition came into my possession from a used bookstore. I originally produced a tiny book, ‘King Zada’s Song’, in 1995, Ed. 8. This new book uses the original illustrations, re-worked. At just 2” x 3” x 3/4", the text and illustrations follow a simple flutter style/accordian format, with each of the six hand-cut arched windows folding out to create tiny theaters displaying illustrations reminiscent of classic Indian miniatures.

“The text consists of seven poems and uses Chopin Script for all the elegant drop caps, and Adobe CaslonPro for the text. Digitally printed on Mohawk superfine vellum, the seven illustrations are combinations of line drawings with additional pattern collage, a more modern approach to the classic Indian miniature. They have been hand-colored and reduced via scanning and transforming on computer. Bookboards and droplid box are covered with combinations of dyed, scanned and printed papers. The lid of the box is complete with a cut-out archway, a discard from my 2007 edition of the Rubaiyat. These tiny cardboard blanks were the remaindered interior pop-outs from the front piece of that cover...

"It is my experience that discarded treasures, often from old projects re-enter my artistic process to become integral to a new endeavor."

www.poemhunter.com: “Adela Florence Nicolson (née Cory) (9 April 1865-4 October 1904) was an English poet who wrote under the pseudonym Laurence Hope. … Adela married Colonel Malcolm Hassels Nicolson, who was then twice her age and commandant of the 3rd Baluchi Regiment in April 1889. A talented linguist, he introduced her to his love of India and native customs and food, which she began to share. This widely gave the couple a reputation for being eccentric. They lived in Mhow for nearly ten years. After he died in a prostate operation, Adela, who had been prone to depression since childhood, committed suicide by poisoning herself and died at the age of 39 on 4 October 1904 in Madras. Her son Malcolm published her Selected Poems posthumously in 1922.”
$95

ABC of Birds
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2020. Edition of 25.

2 x 3 x 1.5" miniature book, flutter construction; 30 pages not including free end pages and pastedowns. Digitally printed with pigmented inks. 26 Individual collages with text on reverse side. 28 pocket pages (collages plus title page and colophon) with inserts. Signed and numbered by the artist. In the edition of 25, 20 slipcased and 5 (SOLD)"Cabinet of Curiosity" format.

Carol Schwartzott: "This Abecedarium is a sweet little miniature book … Twenty of these are book cloth covered boards with printed label, boxed in a paste paper slipcase. The binding style comes from Hedi Kyle, a simple fold-out with pockets. Paper is transparent vellum, each pocket contains one collage, with a special saying about birds on back.

"The collages themselves were done as original art, each 4 x 6” centered on a larger sheet of Rives BFK. There are 26 of these. All are reduced to miniature format, and a graphic letter in an interesting font completes the image. Each of these little cards can be removed from the book.

"Five of these books are contained within a miniature 'Cabinet of Curiosity' housing with a glass front containing an additional collage with actual objects. Each Cabinet has a different artwork contained within. The boxed book slips into a fixed case that is behind the window …"

Robert Bolick, Books on Books, review

$150 slipcased edition

Dancers
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2019. Edition of 10.

3.5” x 2”; 112 pages. Accordion structure. Digitally printed. Collage with hand-embellished color. Contained in altoid tin with marbled paper decorated interior and exterior and paper title on lid. Signed and numbered by the artist. Slipped in felt bag with ribbon drawstring closure.

Carol Schwartzott: "' Dancers' is … accordion fold-out that celebrates dance…..A series of ballerinas carefully cut out, like tiny paper dolls…..each shows us a particular style of dancer….Another fun project using marbled papers, and collage."
$150

Palmistry
The Language of the Hand
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2019. Edition of 10.

3.5” x 2”; 10 leaves including front and back. Digitally printed. Hand-embellished hand illustrations. Contained in altoid tin with paper decorated interior and exterior and paper title on lid. Signed and numbered by the artist. Slipped in felt bag with ribbon drawstring closure.

Carol Schwartzott: "This original concept began with my collection of old altoid tins….I decided to create a tiny book that would fit inside. Nine pages, each attached to an accordion fold-out to produce a pull-out presentation. Text and old illustrations of hands, used for reading the 'nature' or personality are scanned, reduced and printed, hand-colored with inks and paint, and glued onto each page. A sort of 'steam-punk' funky little fun book."
$150 (Last Copy)

April Rain
By Robert Loveman
Niagara Falls, NY: Lilliput Press, 1994. Edition of 500.

2.8 x 2.8" accordion-fold book tied into paper wraps with ribbon. Printed offset. Die-cut windows. Hand painted end pages as well as two spreads of flowers. Book design, binding, and illustration by Carol Schwartzott. Signed, numbered. and dated by the artist.

One in a series of four miniatures that the artist referred to as "The Seasons." This is the spring book. Even though printed offset each book had something handmade about it — "April Rain" was painted and has die-cut windows.

The accompanying text is a poem by Robert Loveman (1864-1923). UA Library blog: "During his years at The University of Alabama [Loveman] wrote his famous 'Rain Song' poem, inspired by the gardens surrounding the house. That poem later served as the inspiration for the famed Al Jolson song 'April Showers.'”
(SOLD/Out of Print)

The Blind Men and the Elephant
By John Godfrey Saxe
Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Lilliput Press, [1994].
Letterpress edition of 100.

Letterpress edition: 1.5 x 1.5" accordion-fold flutter book. Bound cloth with patterned end-papers. Card slipcase with image of elephant on front. Laid in clear acrylic snap case. Book art, design, and hand-colored illustrations by Carol Schwartzott. Numbered and signed by the artist. These are artist proof copies.

American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) based "The Blind Men and the Elephant" on a fable from India. He used it as a means to put forth a little of his own view of the world.

Carol Schwartzott: "I found some wonderful tiny boxes at Pier I. They were made in India and one had an Elephant on it, and the other a Camel. I bought all they had! I then proceeded to create a tiny book that would fit inside. I hand-printed (letterpress) and then hand-colored 100 of each of these, but only 25 or so were the 'specials' placed inside of those tiny boxes that I re-painted and gilded. I liked ' The Blind Men and The Elephant' so much that I actually printed another edition offset."
(SOLD)

The Blind Men and the Elephant
By John Godfrey Saxe
Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Lilliput Press, [1994]. Offset edition of 500.

Offset Edition: 2.8 x 2.8" accordion-fold flutter book. Printed offset with hand-colored illustrations. Bound in paper wraps with elephant illustration on front cover. In matching paper slipcase with paper title label on spine and elephant illustration on cover. Book design and binding by Carol Schwartzott. Signed and numbered by the artist.

American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) based "The Blind Men and the Elephant" on a fable from India. He used it as a means to put forth a little of his own view of the world.

Carol Schwartzott: "I found some wonderful tiny boxes at Pier I. They were made in India and one had an Elephant on it, and the other a Camel. I bought all they had! I then proceeded to create a tiny book that would fit inside. I hand-printed (letterpress) and then hand-colored 100 of each of these, but only 25 or so were the 'specials' placed inside of those tiny boxes that I re-painted and gilded. I liked ' The Blind Men and The Elephant' so much that I actually printed another edition offset."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

A Brief History of the Fan
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, NY: Lilliput Press, 2003. Edition of 30.

Fan with box dimensions 2.75 x 2.13 x 9". Miniature flutter book 2.4 x 1.75 x .6". Fan dimensions 7.5" high with 12" spread when opened. Fan constructed of rag matboard. Printed on Japanese Yohko, which has been dyed & waxed. Text printed on an Epson Photo 2000 with archival inks. Slipcase and bookboards covered with a combination of hand-dyed and Chiyogami papers. Includes bibliography. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Sixth in a series of Brief Histories by Carol Schwartzott. Both an object and a book. Hidden inside a tall slipcase, the fan emerges. When unfolded, the fan contains the rules of fan etiquette on its paper-fan pages. At the top of the slipcase is a tiny lid; within is a miniature book which describes with text and illustration a brief history.

Toronto Public Library, exhibition "Art Under Cover" 2008: "This expanding book is a literal re-creation of a fan, a subject that is well suited to the challenges of folding paper sculpture. It is accompanied by a miniature book that describes the history of the fan from 3200 B.C.E. to the present. It is one of a series of histories in miniature produced by noted book artist Carol Schwartzott."

Cerritos Public Library, "Art of the Book: The Book as Art": "This piece, designed and constructed by Carol Schwartzott, features a cylindrical box that contains a miniature book entitled, A Brief History of the Fan. The miniature book provides a definition of the fan, plus a detailed history of it from 3200 BCE to the 1900s vaudeville fan dance star Sally Rand. A short bibliography of primary sources on the fan is also included.

"The other end of the cylindrical box contains a stand, which holds the fan and several cardboard dividers describing different ways and symbolisms of holding and moving the fan."
(SOLD)

A Brief History of the Fan
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2003. Edition of 30.

Miniature flutter book 2.4 x 1.75 x .6". Letterpress printed on Japanese Yohko paper. In slipcase. Includes bibliography. Signed and numbered by the artist.

A Brief History of the Fan was the sixth in a series of Brief Histories produced by Carol Schwartzott. It was a folding paper sculpture which included this miniature book describing the history of the fan from 3200 B.C.E. to the present. The paper structure edition of "A Brief History of the Fan" was 20 books. The miniature included as part of that structure was an edition of 30. Please note: this is only the miniature book.
(SOLD/Out of Print)

A Brief History of Knitting
By Carol Schwartzott
2006. Edition of 50.

4 x 4 x 2", 37 pages. Housed in drop-lid box. Color Laser printed on acid-free paper. Partial accordion-fold construction, with spine incorporating miniature knitting needles (in a piano hinge construction).

A revised edition of the original published in 1999. This newer version contains the same information, uses the same piano hinge construction and drop-lid box as the original, but employs more color. Tidbits of historical information are accompanied by twelve illustrations and three fiber samples of knitting and felt.
(SOLD)

The Envious Camel
By Beha-Ed-Din Zohein
Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Lilliput Press, 1995. Edition of 80.

2 x 2.25" hexagonal miniature. Printed letterpress. Hand-colored illustrations. Bound in paper covered boards with hand colored floral illustration on front cover. Signed, dated, and numbered by the artist. In paper slipcase with matching floral illustration on cover. Paper title label on spine. Book design and binding by Carol Schwartzott.

This story is based on the Aesop Fable "Jupiter and the Camel." The camel wanted horns like a bull, but instead of horns its ears were cropped. The moral of the tale: Value what you have.
(SOLD)

The Garden
With quotations by Gertrude Jekyll and Thomas Reinhardt.
Niagara Falls, NY: Lilliput Press, [1994]. Second Edition of 500.

2.8 x 2.8" accordion-fold miniature book tied into paper wraps with ribbon. Printed offset. Original drawings by Schwartzott. Embossed cover. Book design and binding by Carol Schwartzott. Signed and numbered by the artist.

One in a series of four miniatures that the artist called "The Seasons." This one is the summer book. Even though printed offset, each book has something handmade about it — "The Garden" had embossed covers.

Flowers from the garden illustrated by Carol Schwartzott are presented in cut-out frame pages. The book begins with a quote from Gertrude Jekyll (Home and Garden, 1990) "The first purpose of a garden is to give happiness and repose of mind..."; it ends with a quote from Thomas Reinhardt, Landscape Architect, "A garden is a maze of experience that grows out of the past and builds on the present."
(SOLD/Out of print)

The Nightingale
By Hans Christian Andersen
Niagara Falls, New York: Lilliput Press, [1996]. Edition of 100.

2 x 2.5"; 104 pages (97 numbered). Computer imaged. Printed on Bodleian moldmade and Japanese papers. Cochin Italic typeface. Pape-covered boards with label containing image of a bird. Decorated papers asendpapers. In matching paper-covered slipcase with paper spine label. Signed and numbered by the book artist, Carol Schwartzott.

A miniature-book version of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Nightingale," a story about an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. The story is presented identically in each book of the edition, but the papers for the binding and slipcase vary.
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Haiku Poems: Two
By Carol Schwartzott
2004. Edition of 50.

5.5 x 5" in box. The book box is a small folio design, covered and lined in Japanese dyed papers with tie closure of a wooden dowel and waxed linen thread. Text and labels are printed letterpress in black and gold. Type used is Gill Sans and ITC Kendo. papers are a combination of Japanese chiyogami, hand dyed Japanese papers, Indian papers, and archival papers. Hand decorating techniques used include stencil, stamp, gocco-printing, and dyeing. An expandable accordion structure of nine folios is used. Each folio contains a decorative paper, paper slip and a set of haiku poems with crest. The book may be viewed by turning each folio as a page or by pulling to expand the format to view all nine folios at once.

Carol Schwartzott produced her first Haiku book of poetry in 1994, an edition of 50. This is a new book of Haiku, again in an edition of 50.
(SOLD)

The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Translated by Edward FitzGerald
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2007. Edition of 25.

11 x 6.5"; 50 leaves. Text pages: Mohawk Via vellum. Printed on an Epson 2000P using archival pigmented inks. Illustration portfolios: Moab Entrada with original art, scanned and printed on an Epson 2000P. Overprinted with a linocut to produce opacity and pattern. Additional applications of paint, colored pencil, and graphite used to heighten color and detail. Finished with gold and silver leaf. Lasercuts: Glama natural clear vellum. Lasercut archways with repeat patterns printed on an etching press using polymer plates. Marbled dividers: hand-marbled on Kozuke Japanese paper. Cover: a laser book board painted and fauxed. Title label underneath with brightly colored background behind the floral window. Housed in 12 x 7.5” drop-lid box. Book boards and box bound in Japanese book cloth. Box liner: Ingres Rag paper, handprinted as a collagraph using the positive shapes from the archway of cover.

Artist's statement: "The Rubáiyát began as a thought ... How ... finding a beautiful little leatherbound version at a secondhand bookstore. As my collection of Rubáiyáts slowly expanded I toyed with the possibility of creating my own version....

"The book is divided into seven segments, each separated by a divider of hand-marbled Japanese paper. The first contains the title page and introduction and the last an artist's statement, bibliography and colophon. The remaining five are dedicated to the seventy-five quatrains of FitzGerald's first edition. Each contains a vellum window, reminiscent of a Persian archway that opens to reveal my version of a miniature painting."

Carol Schwartzott: "This edition of the Rubáiyát uses the 1st edition of FitzGerald's translations. Although it is not considered the best of the translations, it is the original. The completion of this book ends my journey of almost ten years. Interestingly, as I worked on its design and reason I really felt it become a more timely piece. For me the Rubáiyát encapsulates the beauty, intellect, and mysticism of the Persian world. How lovely to focus on what a culture brings to others instead of the brutality, fear, anger, and enormous sadness that the war in Iraq has conjured up and bestowed upon all of us. I wanted the book to be calm, serene, ethereal, peaceful, tranquil. I chose a quiet solution for the typography, the layers of the illustration portfolios peel away like veils, and little dots of color here and there, along with the gold and silver leaf represent the jeweled covers and illuminated miniatures of rare Persian books. Since marbling was an art invented and developed by the Persians, I used it for a segment divider. A simple binding and protective box completed the presentation."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

The Shades of Autumn
Text by Lana LaForest
[Niagara Falls, NY]: Lilliput Press, [1994]. Edition of 500.

2.8 x 2.8" accordion-fold book tied into hand-marbled paper wraps with ribbon. Printed offset. Book design and binding by Carol Schwartzott. Numbered and initialed by the artist.

One in a series of four miniatures that the artist referred to as "The Seasons." This is the fall volume. It contains illustrations with autumn hues and items associated with autumn foliage and harvest. It also includes a quotation from Lana LaForest on the first and last pages.
(SOLD/Out of print)

The Shaw Festival Garden
By Carol Schwartzott
Niagara Falls, N.Y.: Lilliput Press, [1993]. [Edition of 500].

2.8 x 2.8" accordion-fold flutter book. 24 unnumbered pages including paste downs, 8 of these (4 pairs of 2 pages each) have a rectangular cutout window that provides a frame for images made from artist's original drawings. Printed offset. Floral wraps with glitter accents and paper title label on spine. In matching paper slipcase. Book design and binding by Carol Schwartzott. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Carol Schwartzott: "The first miniature books I made were very small, one-of-a-kind pieces that I wish I still had ... They were very textural, with layers of gossamer papers, interesting images and sewing. A very good friend who was a gardener for the Shaw Festival Theatre in Canada saw them and suggested I come up with an idea for a little book about the Shaw grounds."

"The Shaw Festival Garden" miniature begins with a quote from Christopher Newton, Artistic Director, and ends with one from Ingrid Riedke, Head Gardener.
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Spix's Macaw
By Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2008. Edition of 7.

Assemblage housed in 8 x 10 x 4" painted wooden box. Materials include a used picture frame, paper cut-outs of Macaws, glass bottles containing an assortment of found and collected items including birdseed, parakeet feathers, nuts, dried moss, remaindered book, paint, thread, ribbon.

Carol Schwartzott: "A modern curiosity cabinet, I like to think of it as a contemporary 'time machine' that visualizes the environment and habits of Spix's Macaw, an endangered and extinct in the wild bird."

Techniques: Original maps and bird illustrations from the artist's personal collection of old books were scanned and printed on an Epson Photo 2000 using archival inks and paper. These scans were later hand-embellished using paint, colored pencils, graphite, and inks. Stencils are the artist's hand-cut original designs, printed using water based paints. Shelves and stops are constructed of archival foam core, covered first with japanese paper and recovered with a variety of printed and hand modified papers. The box houses two layers: above is the book [Spix's Macaw: The Race to Save the World's Rarest Bird by Toney Juniper (Atria Books, 2002)] and below the cabinet with contained ephemera and three-dimensional exhibit.

This work originally created for a fund-raising auction. "Faces in the Wild is an annual artist auction aimed at raising awareness and funds for wildlife protection. When I came across Spix's Macaw I immediately thought of presenting this endangered species within a cabinet, a technique that I began using early on in my career as a book artist and continue to enjoy. I frequently find small stashes of interesting materials and am also the recipient of many delightful hand-me-down gifts from friends and very often they seem to find a use in my art. So, the Spix's Macaw project soon housed not only the remaindered book I found on EBay, but a collection of molted feathers from a parakeet, nuts and seeds from some old pot-pouri, dried moss from last summer's flower arrangements, and any number of stencils and paper trimmings that I recycled from past projects."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Time is but the Stream
Text by Henry David Thoreau
Artwork and Design by Carol Schwartzott
Freeville, New York: Lilliput Press, 2020. Edition of 6.

2” x 3” x 7/8” miniature; 18 pages with one fold out page. End pages and pastedowns of recycled map pages. Processed: Collage; letterpress; digital print with pigmented ink; sewing. Signed and numbered by the artist. Laid in drop-lid box with paper title on spine.

The text is an excerpt from Henry David Thoreau' "Walden" – " Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains … "

Carol Schwartzott: "Images are printed on Rives BFK, printed as a broadside for the Wayzgoose annual book fair in Grimsby Ontario. These left-overs were hand torn into 3” strips, and accordion folded. Images were machine sewn on and further embellished with ink, colored pencil, and other papers. Seven pages with additions of smaller added pages with the text."

This is a lovely miniature from Schwartzott and puts me in mind of her 2005 work "Beyond Ichthyology".
(SOLD/Out of Print)

A Winter Song
Poems by Eileen Mathias and F. Ann Elliott
Niagara Falls, NY: Lilliput Press, 1994. Edition of 500.

2.8 x 2.8" accordion-fold book tied into paper wraps with ribbon. Printed offset. Cover wrappers are white vellum paper with ribbon tie. Title label on spine. Numbered. Book design and binding by Carol Schwartzott.

One in a series of four miniatures that the artist referred to as "The Seasons." This is the winter book. The illustrations are bookended with poetry. The first poem is by Eileen Mathias who wrote poetry for children. This poem is often found in children's poetry anthologies. The poem at the end of the book is by F. Ann Elliott. Carol Schwartzott has complimented the text by illustrating each letter of the title with winter remembrances.
(SOLD/Out of Print)