Limited Editions Club Set Sells for $34,925
George Macy- an icon of fine books
George Macy & The Limited Editions Club
The Limited Editions Club was founded in 1929 by George Macy to offer beautifully produced works of world literature with accompanying illustrations by some of the finest artists of the day.1 Each title was issued in numbers of 1,500 exactly and was sold to club members for an annual subscription fee of $10.00 (roughly $150.00 today). Throughout its early years, Macy commissioned original art by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Lynd Ward, Thomas Hart Benton, and Valenti Angelo, among others.2
Each title was unique, using special papers, special cover material including many in leather, almost all came in a slipcase or clamshell box, many of the titles were already regarded as classics and produced by private small presses throughout the world, almost all were signed by either the illustrator, author, publisher or designer. Sometimes three signatures can be found on the colophon page.3
SOLD AT AUCTION! LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB]. A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010.
The first complete run of limited editions club publications ever offered at auction sold at $34,925 on November 14, 2024. 589 works, comprising all of the primary publications listed in Limited Editions Club: A Collector’s Guide and Checklist 1929-2012 (Bill R. Majure, compiler). Various 8vo to folio sizes. Illustrated. Original publisher’s bindings; slipcases (some occasional light general wear). The sale included:
A large archive of supplemental materials related to the Limited Editions Club including a transcript of reminiscences given by Helen Macy to Columbia University Oral History Research Office in October 1978; an archive of letters exchanged between George and Helen Macy and Robert L. Dothard, designer and compiler of the first LEC bibliography Quarto-Millenary, as well as original drawings and punches used in its production and sample pages from various LEC publications reproduced within its pages.4
Macy published editions under several imprints.
Macy published editions under several imprints. Heritage Press editions were sold through bookstores, while The Heritage Club, The Heritage Illustrated Bookshelf, and The Junior Heritage Club editions were sold by subscription only. These publishing enterprises were combined in 1944 as units of the George Macy Companies, Inc. Each imprint targeted a specific audience; George Macy was a master publicist and had excellent marketing skills.
Macy created the Heritage Club in 1937 in part to satisfy book lovers who weren't able to afford to join the Limited Editions Club. By 1942, membership exceeded 9,200, and three of its selections, Lust for Life, Song of Songs, and Mother Goose, had each sold more than 20,000 copies in a single year.5
After Macy
Following Macy’s death in 1956 his wife Helen took over operations, and upon her retirement in 1968 handed the business over to their son Jonathan. Less than a decade later the company was sold to Sidney Schiff, whose love of modern art and literature breathed new life into Limited Editions Club publications.6 Works published during the Schiff era tended to focus more on modern authors and artists, with Schiff putting his own stamp on Macy's tradition of commissioning original artwork for LEC works by showcasing the works of Faith Ringgold, Robert Motherwell, Phoebe Beasley, Balthus, and others. The Papers of the Limited Edition and Heriatge Press are at Columbia University.7
ARCHIVES AT University of Texas-Harry Ransom Center
A Preliminary Inventory of its Records at the Harry Ransom Center can be found at this link:
The Ransom Center Library contains a complete run of the Limited Editions Club and Heritage Press series.
The bulk of Macy’s Limited Editions Club and The Heritage Press records consist of correspondence with authors, illustrators, designers, binders, and printing firms related to the numerous titles published between 1929 and 1970, such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Don Quixote, Frankenstein, Herodotus, Jayne Eyre, Kim, The Last of the Mohicans, Moby-Dick, Paradise Lost, numerous works by Shakespeare, War and Peace.
Correspondents include James Baldwin, Thomas Hart Benton, Karen Blixen, Jonathan Cape, Theodore Dreiser, Ford Maddox Ford, Eric Gill, John Hersey, Dard Hunter, James Joyce, Alfred A. Knopf, Sinclair Lewis, Henri Matisse, W. Somerset Maugham, V. S. Pritchett, Kenneth Rexroth, Norman Rockwell, George Bernard Shaw, Gilbert Stuart, Lionel Trilling, Hugh Walpole, and E. B. White.
The Center’s Art Collection holds a separate Limited Editions Club collection of portfolios of prints published as illustrations for books issued by the club, 1988-2001. 6,731 original art works by over 100 artists, used in Limited Editions Club and Heritage Press publications, were transferred to the Ransom Center Art Collection.
Interest Today
The George Macy Imagery. Major sites for collectors of these books.
George Macy devotees
Fans of the work of the founder of The Limited Editions Club and The Heritage Press. All lovers of Fine Press welcome. Thanks to the efforts of Devotee W. Carter, a wonderful resource for these books has been made available at George Macy Devotees.
Johnson, Nunnally. A Tribute to George Macy. New York: For members of the Limited Editions Club, 1956. See also: George Macy.
Grossman, Carol P., Matthew Carter, Jerry Kelly, and PBtisk (Firm). 2017. The History of the Limited Editions Club. First edition. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press.
Rogers, Bruce, and Bruce Rogers. A Record of the Proceedings at the Limited Editions Club’s Dinner to Celebrate the Twenty-First Birthday of the Club & the Fiftieth Birthday of Its Founder : Together with a Reproduction of the Program and Menu, the Ritz-Carlton, New York, 11 May 1950. New York, NY: The Club], 1950.
Freeman Hindman Auctions
[With:] A profusion of ephemera including pre-publication announcements, bibliographies, and original prospectuses which includes the very first ever printed, as well as the first application for membership with original return envelope.
Bussacco, Michael C. A Heritage Press Retrospective. Book Think #75 August 14, 2006.
Limited Editions Club, and Denis Gouey. 1985. Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 1929-1985. New York City: Limited Editions Club.
George Macy papers, 1916-1970. Columbia University in the City of New York. Columbia University Libraries. Summary: Letters, documents, and printed materials documenting Macy's publishing career, including that relating to the Nonesuch Press, dating from 1941 to 1960. Included also are photographs, awards, and financial papers.
I've bought them for years in great shape at no more than $7 each, shipping included. Bet you I could assemble a near fine complete set of all 589 volumes in slipcases for under $10,000 with ease in less than six months.
I’m astounded. I had no idea this universe existed .