Justin Rowe creates these magical sculptures from hand cut books and found images with the help of just a touch of gum arabic and 24 carat gold or palladium leaf. Some are very much in the realms of fairy stories like the one above, but my favourites are the stories below where Justin’s skill brings the book’s own illustrations to life.

A Siberian tiger cub is seen at the Hengdaohezi Breeding Center for Felidae on October 26, 2007 in Harbin of Heilongjiang Province, China. Established in 1986, the breeding center is one of the world's largest captive breeding base for Siberian tigers. Distributed throughout northeastern China, far eastern Russia and North Korea, over 400 Siberian tigers exist in the wild, approximately 20 in China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Singer Rihanna performs at the Staples Center on June 28, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Japanese artist and architect Yusuke Oono brings fairy-tale books to a new level with his striking series of 360°-cut books..

A dog welcomes a volunteer at the “Ping An A Fu” (“Safe and Happy”) Homeless Animals Rescue Center on September 11, 2006 in Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Artist Terry Border gives new life to old books in his latest series titled Wiry Limbs, Paper Backs. The artist, who is no stranger to breathing new life into inanimate objects, utilizes his handcrafted technique of bending wires to serve as limbs and combines it with a great sense of humor. Each whimsical creation in the ongoing project is a sculptural work that stands on its own, reflecting its respective text.

People will spout about impermanence of digital records, but books are really fragile, too. Alexis Arnold from San Francisco wanted to illustrate that with her project The Crystallized Book: collecting books and growing Borax crystals on them. Books range from literature classics to magazines, and there’s even a mysterious and arcane tome called “Linux: The Complete Manual”.

Jozsef Tari has been collecting miniature books since 1972, and is now the proud owner of over 4,500 literary works, including the world’s smallest book (2.9 x 3.2 mm).