How were you introduced to the HP/LEC? What was your first HP/LEC title? What was your last HP/LEC t

I went to a small technical college which graduated students in Mechanical and Electrical/Electronic Engineering. Just before graduation in 1961. I made friends with a professor who taught a series of liberal arts courses such as literature, American History, survey of economics etc. Injecting liberal arts into technical engineering courses was probably an attempt to become accredited. He invited me to his house just before graduation since he knew I had an interest in lierature. When I arrived at his house, he took me into his library room. In two large floor-to-ceiling bookcases, he had just about all the HP books ever published. After showing me dozens of HP books, I was very curious as to how he had accumulated so many nicely bound classics.

When I was leaving his house that night, he gave me a prospectus on the Heritage Club and a membership application form. Right after graduation, I obtained a job, then sent in my application to buy twelve books the next year. The price in those days was $4.95 per title. Also, as a bonus for joining, I would receive a free copy of The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. I received these two, and before I was finished with them. I received Dickens' Our Mutual Friend and Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination.

Shortly before the coming season of HP books, I started receiving mailings on the Limited Ediitions Club. It took me awhile to query these mailings about the LEC. Eventually, I received a prospectus on the next LEC series and a letter stating that unfortunately there were no LEC subscriptions open at the present time. I was pleasently surprised to find that an LEC subscripton was only $10 more per month than a Heritage Club subscription or $15 per month.

Next, I received notice that a membership had opened up and was being held for me if I wanted an LEC membership.
I replied that I did want a subscription for $15 per month with a 10% discount for payment in advance. I immediately joined and the first book I received was Petrarch's Sonnets, a lovely book, but about as familiar to me as Sanscrit. I more or less stayed as a member until 1985 when the last book I feceived as an LEC member was The Secret Sharer.

I kept my Heritage Club membeship also up through 1969. Next, I spied an ad in some periodical, I can't remember which, that told me a catalog of all LEC publications would be sent to me upon request. That was how I met Mr. Philip C. Duschnes, a NY book seller. The catalog listed all LECs published to date with a price. I continued to receive Duschnes catalogs for several years. An interested buyer would select which titles he was inteested in and write Mr. Duschnes in NY. Duschnes would then send you your selection(s) or try to find them for you. When you got a selection(s), you would send Duschnes payment or return the book(s) if the book(s) were not in the condition you wanted. You can imagine what a cumbrous process this was when compared with the internet. However, I did receive several books from Mr. Duschnes which were in Fine condition such as A Connecticut Yankee, Madam Bovary, Franklin's Autobiography, Cellini's Autobiography, and several more. I continued to buy from Duschnes until his death. I remained a member of the LEC when the LEC was run by Shiff, through 1985. I have continued to purchase many Shiff-era books such as The Leopard, Oedipus, Hunting Stories, The Kingdom of This World, The Old Man and the Sea, and others which were not of the Livres d'Artist genre.

I now am buying selected books when I can find them, and restoring certain books from the 30s and 40s to as near their original condition as I can by rebinding. Also, I remake many slipcases and solanders, recovering them in bookcloth and lining them with French velour. As I am writing this, I find that I am the owner of one more LEC, The Black Swan by Thomas Mann, bringing my total LEC collection to 525 titles.

I was introduced to the books of George Macy through hanging about on the Folio Society Devotees group and (like quite a few others) falling victim to our good friend Django's pro-Macy propaganda (only kidding, Robert - you know I'll be eternally grateful to you for the introduction). My first LEC was "The Trial" and my latest (acquired together for a completely bargain price from an actual bricks and mortar bookshop - and one in the UK no less) were "The Poems of William Wordsworth" and "The Turn of the Screw". Those two bring my collection up to 58, which isn't so many in the grand scheme of things, but they've been acquired in less than two years of collecting them. Latest one read was "The Innocent Voyage", which I finished last night, so now I have the delicious task of selecting the next. "Turn of the Screw" or "Toilers of the Sea"...

Same as Huxley, I owe the introduction to Macy's presses to Django's posts on LT. I shall NEVER get over the fact that I lived ten years in the US and bought thousands of books while remaining completely unaware of the LEC/Heritage books. Never! Don't know how it was possible. Maybe because I used to buy mostly non-English books in used bookstores? SIGH!

First LEC I bought was "The Song of Roland", the latest "An Iceland fisherman"; first Heritage was Aristophanes' Birds/Frogs, and the latest "Gulliver's travels", from 1940.

I stumbled into George Macy (and the world of finer books in general) a few years ago when I found an older HP copy of Crime and Punishment at my university's bookstore. It was missing its slipcase and faded a bit, but i was instantly struck with how crisp and clear the illustrations were, how much nicer the paper felt than my mass market novels, and how strong the binding was after all those years. Soon after I ran across the Folio Society's Lord of the Rings set at a neighboring bookstore, and my bank account has been suffering ever since.

I picked up my first HP book Crainquebille for $5 at a library sale. My first LEC was Of The Nature Of Things. Serendipity, I was just looking for a nice leather bound copy of Lucretious and this beautiful edition arrived. I thought, "Wow, I'll have to watch out for this publisher in the future". Picked up a few more, started perusing the Macy LT thread and was hooked by Robert.

>2 HuxleyTheCat:, 3, 5

...mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa...

My introduction was also through the extolment of django.
I was at the time contemplating buying the folio society letterpress shakespeare. However i came to find that the LEC shakespeare would have illustrations and would be about 10% of the cost of the FS shakespeare.
And since then i couldnt get enough.

I, like others, owe the pursuit for finer American books to Robert (Django). If my memory serves me right then my first book was Ovid's Metamorphoses - brand new still in original package that I bought from Robert's relatives.

My first HP was the two vol. War and Peace and my latest LEC that I am waiting to receive are three vols. from the LEC Shakespeare: As you like it, Henry the Fifth, and Timon from Athens. After reading through Shakespeare: A review and preview I had to get a hand on some.

I was also surprised by the loosely laid-in letter from 1939, personally signed by Macy replying back to a member urging him to consider buying this set. In the back there was also an order form stating the price for the set for $185 or $166 if paid in full with a discount for the whole set. An amazing $5 per volume!!! I have to check how much that is in today prices.

>7 Virion: Viron, did you get your hands on a complete set?

>8 ironjaw: I bought a complete plays set of 37 volumes, no poems and sonnets that was later issued.

Because the poems and sonnets are so widely used in the finepress world im having difficulty deciding which one to go for.

>9 Virion: I just acquired a copy of the 1975 Swallow Press edition of the Sonnets with Sangorski and Sutcliffe binding and Clark Hutton abstract images. It's absolutely stunning; the crown jewel of my book collection. There are a few copies on abe at various prices - I'll just say that I paid considerably less for mine than the FS Letterpress edition would have cost me.

I discovered the Heritage Press quite by accident. I was perusing a library book sale when I stumbled upon an amazing copy of The Aeneid, with the dynamic binding of Carlotta Petrina’s artwork. I was floored, and I was even more stunned at the $10 price tag. Surely a book of this quality cost more! I bought it and was very pleased with myself, as I’ve been a fan of old books and believed I had a gem in my hands. The next time the same library had a sale, I discovered a brilliant copy of Sherlock Holmes, which, despite a garish handwritten name on the inside, was just beautiful. I was lucky enough to walk away with that one for a paltry $2! It happened to have a Sandglass, but for some reason I didn’t take much note of it. I was just pleased to continue building up my book collection. A nearby library also has sales, and at one particular visit not too far off from picking up Sherlock I found a third book that was stunning: the Pierre Brissaud illustrated Cyrano de Bergerac. Now I adore this play as it is, due to having been in a production of it (as De Guiche), and I was tickled to own such an exquisite copy of it. However, something clicked inside of me when I noticed that the publisher was the Heritage Press. That seemed familiar. Upon returning home I checked my Aeneid and Sherlock and lo and behold, they were all from the same house! That’s when I became a Heritage collector.

Becoming a LEC collector took a little longer. I’m not exactly sure how I put 2 + 2 together and realized that the Heritage Press was a part of the Limited Editions Club, but I found out about the LEC on my honeymoon in Monterey in 2008 as I laid eyes on a wide array of LEC titles. I spent at least a good hour pouring through them all, ultimately deciding on George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman.

As for the latest books, The Cloister and the Hearth is my latest Heritage book (thanks, Robert!), and The Torrents of Spring is my newest LEC.

I started with Easton and Franklin books, attracted by the accessibility of their beautiful bindings. Regularly, the same seller was selling strange books, with illustrations, signed, limited in number and with all kind of bindings, and slipcased. I tried to purchase one, just by curiosity, in July 2011. It was Kenilworth, covered with fabric, illustrated by Clarke Hutton printed in cream-colored paper. After I touched, smelled and opened the book, I was definitively, forever, hooked..
Omoo followed, and others, and Thoreau, Dubliner, the Twains, Fairy tales, Hawthorne, and I discovered Parker Miller and Eichenberg, Hofmann, Erni, Moser, and all the others. Christmas 2011, I received the 39 shakespeare in very good condition, all shipped to Switzerland in 7 parcels, and others, others, others.
I could even found around 15 from a bookseller in Zürich.
To date, I have 133 titles plus the 39 Shakespeare, which amounts to nearly 190 books. Considering that at the same time, I acquired quite a number of other illustrated books, from the French Presses of the first half of the XXe century, Folio Society, Easton Press, and other "anglophone" books from Arion, Chester, Centipede, Old School, and Foolscap, Gregynog, Whittington, etc., my postman probably has arranged a contract on my head! I have distributed my bookshelves evenly around my house, in order to avoid a uneven settlement of the foundations.
My last purchases were a signed Usher's Poe and the huge Poems of Senghor (1996). I do not desperate to put my hands on a bargained Balthus or Heinrich Harrer.
I checked Ebay and Majure's list on a daily basis.
Madness!!!

>11 WildcatJF:
ultimately deciding on George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman.
Good choice, Jerry! Great artwork by Charles Mozley; design by John Dreyfus, master typographer, and the inspired inclusion of the Revolutionist’s Handbook in the style of Mao's Little Red Book.
(For Django here's Mr Dreyfus at work - another artist who knew how to dress properly.)

13) I certainly haven't regretted it! A great play done up with style.

12>
You have done quite well, considering you have accumulated 190 book in a relatively short time. I would urge you ro concentrate on some of the harder-to-get LECs rather than broadening your collection to include more publishers. I was able to accumulate 525 LEC titles by receiving my LECs through a subscription membership for a number of years.

I just completed a transaction for a Fine copy of The Black Swan which will be the last of the Shiff era books which I wanted. The high prices for Wuthering Heights and others are prohibitive. When prices get above $1000 for a book, I usually decline to participate.

>15 leccol:
It would be interesting to have a list of hard-to-get LECs.

>16 Maretzo: How does one define "hard-to-get" though?

There are many LECs that are very expensive and consequently for me virtually impossible to get unless I'm unbelievably lucky; yet, should I suddenly come into money I could buy a copy of Lysistrata (and many of the other very expensive titles) immediately as I know sellers who have them. Do you perhaps mean titles that were produced in materials that were more prone to wear? Or, any other criteria?

>17 HuxleyTheCat:

Although with sufficient shekels just about every LEC is obtainable, there are a few, as Fiona suggests, that were produced in materials that didn't hold up well, and are not often found in good condition: for years I looked for a decent copy of Moby Dick, which as leccoll has often pointed out, did not hold up well at all thanks to the dye used on the sheepskin. (A recent copy showed up on eBay in the best condition I have ever seen for an LEC Moby Dick for sale, but alas, beyond my financial resources at present).

Other unique bindings which aren't as durable are the Oriental bindings of the first issue of the Analects, Kwaidan, and All Men Are Brothers, the paper-bound first issue of Notre Dame de Paris, and the astounding Far Away and Long Ago.

Two relatively scarce books, which were out of the regular series are The Grapes of Wrath which was limited to only 1146 copies rather than the normal 1500, and the Arthur Rackham-illustrated The Wind in the Willows, which was limited to 2,020 by arrangement with the copyright holders, but which, as Macy said, they could have easily sold twice as many.

Another book that I have seldom seen in both Fine and affordable condition is one that I can't quite explain its relative scarcity--Slovenly Peter. It has no highly desirable signature, Kredel's is available on many other books, and though it isn't the most durable binding, it shouldn't have deteriorated more than many other books that are more abundant.

As for the Shiff-era books, their relative scarcity and celebrity signatures have always kept them outside my collecting interests.

I suspect the hardest-to-get LECs are the Complete Shakespeare. Unfortunately many of these were broken up to sell off the Rackham-illustrated A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is often seen offered for the price of a complete set.

Amended to include what may be a harder-to-get LEC: the 1950 Bruce Rogers-designed Voyage to Lilliput and Voyage to Brobdingnag. The scarcity of this volume is explained by the fact that anything designed and signed by Bruce Rogers is most desirable, and because this is the oddest combination of books the LEC ever offered in a single package.

Ok, I knew this would be a long post, so I have been waiting before offering my own story.

I first became aware of the Limited Editions Club in late 2009 when visiting an Evanston, Illinois good old-fashioned brick & mortar bookstore. My friend who was with me, another avid collector of books, purchased a mint condition The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. Since he was staying with me, I took the opportunity to thoroughly examine all illustrations and read the entire Monthly Letter. I was amazed at the wonderful background information provided for the author, illustrator and book design. I was also enamored of the overall presentation: the still-perfect leather spine, the impeccable decorative boards, the letterpress printing, and the illustrations which appeared to be hand drawn and colored in that very copy. Needless to say, I was uber impressed, but a little put off by the cost.

Then I discovered the world of book buying on ABE and eBay (in addition to direct purchases from still extant publishers and the random bookstore find). I used these sources primarily to extend my collection of Easton Press and Folio Society books, expand into select Franklin Library series and titles, and even dabble a bit into Gryphon. I must have become aware at some point that Easton Press purchased the rights to the Heritage Press long before I became familiar with either, though the specific timing of this revelation is lost to memory. In any case, what I remember learning was that Easton Press produced sometimes identical works to the Heritage Press, but with the more desirable (to me, anyway) leather bindings. This was before I realized the limitations of Easton Press quality (even in their leather selection), particular the printing quality which often looks like a bad photocopy, seduced as I was by the beauty of the leather bindings and spines on my shelves.

Little did I understand that the Heritage Press titles Easton Press was producing in mostly inferior copies were themselves usually reprints of George Macy's Limited Editions Club. Based on subject matter alone, rather than publisher, I won an eBay auction for my very first LEC book in May 2010, Edmund Burke's On Conciliation With The Colonies. For some reason I forgot that these should come with a monthly letter, and in the excitement of the auction, I completely overpaid. At least the book and slipcase were in near fine condition and I was familiar with the illustrator (Lynd Ward) from various Easton Press books and thrilled to have his signature. I loved the binding which reminded me an old tasteful chair covering or drapery. I was hooked.

My collection built up somewhat slowly after that initial purchase, and like many of you I have been heavily influenced and highly enabled by members here, particular Django6954, leccol, and WildcatJF who often sing the praises of a particular title. After a somewhat laggard beginning, my collection built up rapidly through some rather expensive acquisitions of multiple boxes of books directly from bookstores as well as the occasional eBay auction.

I am now the proud owner of 187 Limited Editions Club titles, and intend to collect many more. I will never own every title they published since like Don Floyd, I have no interest in Picasso's signature and will not pay $5,000 or more for a book containing it. I also think it is nice that the original Alice, Miss Hargraves, signed a few copies of the LEC editions of Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, but I don't find that signature itself worth nearly $2,000 a book. And while I do not insist on Fine Condition for every title (my funds would never allow me to be that particular), I will not buy a copy that I have to spend a small fortune rebinding or that is not in a condition I consider worth collecting. But I have committed to building a very considerable collection, up through the very early Shiff years (most of his later work holds no interest for me since I find most modern art vile and the prices equally egregious).

My most recent addition was the 1940 version of Ivanhoe, with the faux chain-mail boards and illustrations by Allen Lewis. I already owned the 1951 Edward Wilson illustrated version. I like both renditions and don't have a strong preference for either, though I would likely give the edge to the Wilson version simply because the pictures are more colorful.

"I suspect the hardest-to-get LECs are the Complete Shakespeare. Unfortunately many of these were broken up to sell off the Rackham-illustrated A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is often seen offered for the price of a complete set."
Not to mention the individual volumes that have been broken up so that the illustrations can be flogged off separately. Which, to bring this thread back to the OP, was how I stumbled on the LEC: seeing a stunning Eichenberg original print advertised on e-bay. It turned out to be the frontispiece to an edition of Richard III from a publisher of whom I had never heard...

Miraculously, the seller had only just uploaded it and hadn't yet got round to stripping it or any of the other illustrations out of the book. So I bought the book, cast around LT for more information on this interesting LEC outfit and ended up (a) in this group, (b) poor, and (c) happy.

> 20
Your message made me laugh. Well at least the second paragraph since the practice described in the first paragraph always makes me want to cry.

> 19 I also like both Ivanhoes, but so far have bought only the 1940 one. I found the chain-mail irresistibly tactile and Allen Lewis's illustrations more original and dramatic than Wilson's. The latter are undeniably beautiful - and I'm sure I'll end up buying the 1951 edition - but I feel Lewis conveys a rougher less chivalric mediaeval world (there are some right thugs and inglourious basterds in the book, after all!). Also I wanted another example of his work after admiring his woodcuts for Undine, though I agree with George Macy that the decorative borders to those pictures are somewhat, er, distracting.

> 22
Undine is one of my favorite LECs!

>23 UK_History_Fan:

The binding on Undine is truly glorious--one of the best.

I collected LECs from 1965 through 1985 and have them all through these years. They were relatively easily obtained since I was a Club subscriber during most of these years. The first LEC I bought was the Sonnets of Petrarch; the last one I bought was The Secret Sharer.

Books published prior to 1965, I have procured from the aftermarket by assiduously searching for them from booksellers and the internet. I bought quite a few from Mr. Philip C. Duschnes, a NY bookseller with offices on Madison Ave, close to where the LEC was situated. I corresponded with Mr/ Dushnes a great many times, and it was from him I received a list of all LECs available up to the late 60s. He has went to book heaven many years ago, but it was his knowledge of the LEC which peaked my interest in the LEC. A Connecticut Yankee, Autobiography of Franklin, and Madame Bovary are a few of the books I obtained from Mr. Duschnes

Last year, I fortunately restored with a new binding the Boardman Robinson edition of Moby Dick. I found a copy (through an internet search) in a musty Los Angeles antique shop. I was told that one had to wear a dust filter over one's mouth upon entering the store. The spine and most of the board leather were missing, but the book itself was in pretty good shape. I rebound it in 1/2 crimson Nigerian and a hand-made marbled paper from the Ann Muir collection. It is now in beautiful condition for a cost of about $500. For an additional $150 I had a custom slipcase made with a leather label on the slipcase rear. It doesn't cost a fortune to rebind LECs; what I do is to concentrate entirely on the book of interest and abstain from buying other books until the one of interest is finished.

Another project of the previous year was to find the two Alice books. I found Through the Looking-Glass at the Different Drummer shop for $75. I looked for a solid year to find Wonderland. I finally located one for $500 in a Virginia shop. I emailed the seller several times asking for a lower price. We finally agreed on a price of $300. Both books were missing a large portion of the spine. I rebound Wonderland in Scarlet Nigerian and Looking-Glass in Royal Blue Nigerian, and had a custom slipcase made to hold both books.

Some of the other books mentioned by posters are Analects of Confucious and Kwaidan. When Analects is found, the first thing to look for is an unwarped and complete red-wood box. If the box is good, the book is likely to be the same. I found an almost perfect box and book on ebay for about $300.

Kwaidan is hard to find with the book cover intact and with the two small ivory clasps not broken or other wise damaged. After a search of several years I found a copy with book and cover in Mint condition. I jumped at the sellers price of $300, although I ate lightly that month.

All Men are Brothers was another elusive book. When I saw one on Abe, I emailed the seller. This was the only LEC the seller had and he had just gotten it a few days before. When I told him that I wanted to buy it direct, he was very happy. I was very happy when I received the book. The slipcase, chemise, and book were in Mint condition!

Far Away and Long Ago I found in a slipcase which was destroyed, but the book was Fine. I had a solander made for the book to make it easier to get in and out of its new box. The book with its pony hair is the most fragile of my LECs.

Notre Dame De Paris I have, and it is scheduled to be bound this summer.

I found a copy of Slovenly Peter at a Chicago bookseller for $150.I was told the book was Mint, but the Chemise and case were in poor condition. I designed a very attractive solander for the book covered in blue French Velour on the outside and red velour on the inside. the book was in Mint condition, and its new solander is perfect for a case.

I found a copy of the Robert Frost much below its usual price of several thousand dollars due to its lack of a slipcase and pretty bad stains on the covers. I paid $800 for the book which is Fine on the inside. I will rebind it and make a new slipcase to hold the books this summer.

Many of the Shiff-era books can be had for a good price if you persevere in your search and are not afraid to ask for a price reduction. I won't pay the thousands of dollars some of them bring. I went as high as $900 for a Mint copy of the old Man and the Sea, and that is the most I have ever paid for an LEC. I told the seller that this was my last offer. He could have the $900 in a few minutes through PayPal or try to get his asking price of $1500 from someone else. He took the $900.

The last LEC I bought was last week. I bought the Black Swan (Shiff book) for $675. I have wanted this Thomas Mann book for a long time, but even though the book is relatively new, the English calf it is bound in is soft and the book scratches easily. I bought it after seeing pictures of the book and getting the price reduced by $100 for dealing direct with the seller.

I have the Bruce Rogers' Gulliver books. I bought mine for $330 and they are in Mint condition. The only bad thing about this issue is the slipcase which is poorly designed, and the books are hard to get out or in. I'm having a new solander made which will solve this problem.

I would love to have an LEC Shakespeare in the Fine condition that the one which Chris of Books and Vines has. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

>19 UK_History_Fan: I bid on that Burke.
>22 featherwate: I love the chainmail boards for the 1940 Ivanhoe but I've got the '51 on my wish list because I prefer the Wilson illusterations.
>22 featherwate: & 24 Also have Undine on my wish list
>25 leccol: Managed to find Kwaidan in great condition but still looking for Analects with a good box and All Men Are Brothers in fine or near fine condition

It looks like I have a lot of competition out there for the books I'd like ;-)

> 26
Friendly competition, but yes. I have Burke, Undine and All Men Are Brothers, but I'll race you to Kwaidan and Analects :-) Actually I have very little interest in either of those two titles so by the time I get around to acquiring them, you can just sell me yours!

At the beginning I started to fill the shelves with the EP books, beautifully bounded and illustrated. The appetite increased, the shelves were filling, but... something was missing. Almost all EP books mentioned the copyright of LEC, but for a while it did not click. I was just a "fresh" immigrant from Russia, where we missed beautiful books, and for a while the beauty of EP was quite exciting. It lasted for a few years, until 1998, when my close American friend, who is very knowledgeable about books, showed me a small group of LEC books in a Used Books store in Ventura, a small town near Santa Barbara. He had collected them in 60s, but having some financial issues had sold them - so he inspired me to buy a book or two. I was not convinced that I would want to pay $70 for Tartuffe (the edition of 1931 or so), I was very far away from this used books collecting. Slowly, step by step, mistake by mistake, I learned more about LEC. (Somehow I stay indifferent to Heritage books...) It took some time to decide, what level of quality I would tolerate. Great majority of the books were Fine, but the older books of Macy era were almost impossible to find in Fine condition, so there are NF books as well, with small imperfections.

For many years I had a limit set on 1985 year of publication. I guess it was caused by the known catalog, that mentioned only books until 1985. The later books seemed so unaffordable that I skipped their sales and hardly paid any attention. But when the set was almost full, I discovered that the Shiff books are attractive as well. Expensive rather than cheap, they are a big and important part of the total set, and to collect the LEC means to get them all. It is hard to imagine I can make it, but at the beginning I could not believe that I would get them all. The books published before 1985 are collected all, and the later books are settling in my home library, one by one. Some of them are absolutely amazing. The artists Motherwell and de Kooning impressed me absolutely. Many of us had a lucky chance to see many pix of the latest LECs, in the Books and Wines. Those pix were very inspiring for me. (How sad it is not up anymore!) The research related to the design of each Shiff book is also VERY interesting, and Mrs Jeanne Shiff knows so many interesting details about the publications!

From time to time the latest LECs appear at auctions, eBay, or even on ABE Books, with more or less "reasonable" prices. So hopefully, one lucky day the Shiff collection will also be completed. Very few books are still absent. No rush. Just some patience.

Vladimir, what an inspring story. I would love to see some pictures of your library. Were there any particular books before 1985 that were harder to obtain?

>28 skyschaker:

A model story for lovers of fine books! Too many collectors have a hard time being patient in collecting, and often buy impulsively and unwisely (I know I did when I started buying LECs). As a result, I often had multiple copies of some books in less-than-Fine condition which were eventually replaced by a much better one that finally came along. It is hard to hold out when you see a book you want, but if I've learned anything from my years of collecting, it's that patience eventually pays off.

'django -

I just received my latest acqusition of the LEC: The Black Swan by Thomas Mann. I have the other Mann LECs and have been looking for this one. Have you seen it? It is sumptually bound in English calf, but that is where my liking for it ends. I know I agree with you about the illustrations in Heart of Darknes, but this one exceeds that one with modern, mediocre illustrations. They look as if they have been created by an unsupervised art class of six year olds. The typography using what we in the ad business (I retired from running my own ad agency) called Helvetica Black is extremely ugly to be used as a text font. Of course, using a Helvetica font is not bad, but using the heaviest possible font was a mistake. I would like to hear what you think of this book.

>30 Django6924: Robert, I'm not sure I agree with you in holding out for a volume in the best condition. Why not buy what's available (assuming it meets ones minimum quality level) and then replacing it with a really fine edition when one is found at an affordable price (affordable being subjective to each collector). It may take years to find and in the mean time one has a nice volume to read and enjoy.

>28 skyschaker: Vladimir, I'm another collector that was seduced by EPs leather bindings before realizing what existed in the fine press market.

Most of us LEC (collectors now) were seduced by the Easton Press or the Heritage Press. After I found what could be done at a book binders,, I defected to rebinding as necessary early LECs of the 30s and 40s. If I ever finish rebinding the early LECs,I may procure some of the later Shiff's if I can get them down in price. It looks like Shiff LEC's after 1990 can be had on auction in the European marketat more reasonble prices. Right now, I'm not prepared to spend $4000 for a book.

I haven't seen the LEC The Black Swan so can make no informed comment except to say that that type choice and the fact that the illustrations were done in a style more akin to fine art prints rather than that of typical illustrations doesn't sound promising. Most of the Shiff-era books haven't appealed to me for these reasons.

Ken, my own financial situation has changed drastically in the past 5 years, so my buying strategy has required modification. In the past I would have agreed with you. Now, I prefer to wait. Rebinding is, for these reasons, is also not an option. Luckily I still have a considerable TBR backlog,so I can wait and not feel deprived!

>29 ironjaw:
Ironjaw,
The books that were hard to get were quite a few. Moby Dick was a hard-to-get LEC edition. I have never seen the initial cover in Fine condition, so when I found a copy in Abebooks, I immediately paid for it, and the seller told me that it was the initial edition in a perfect condition, but without SC. When the books arrived, I found out that the inside is really in perfect condition, but the covers were changed and as result the book was rebounded. I contacted the seller - it looked like he had not known the problems with the cover of this book. To close the issue he agreed to send me back half of the sum I had sent him. Later I paid for a custom made SC box, and the books look very nice, pleasant to look, pleasant to read. It took 10 years+ to get a set I am happy with.

A hard book to find is the Poetry of Longfellow. The leather cover is always quite poor. All copies that Abebooks offer, cheap or expensive, are poor in quality. 8 or 9 years of search eventually gave a result.

And most certainly, Picasso and Matisse books hard to get for a reasonable price, they are always expensive.

34>
Sorry you haven't seen The Black Swan. I hadn't either until I purchased it and received it in the mail. As I said, the English calf binding is sumptuous; reminds me of a superb pair of hand-made English shoes. I polished the binding today using a dark brown paste wax and now it looks pretty good. The illustrations are terrible. I know the story line of the Mann book, but I have no idea what the art is about. I am not unfamiliar with modern art since I collected original art for years by such artists as Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Victor Vasserely. But these illustrations are rediculous. I think Shiff was unduly impressed by some Modern? graphic artists who were reccomemded by some of the associates who surrounded him. This is the last Shiff I will get since it is the last one which is a work of prose. I always enjoyed reading Mann so I'll read the book and ignore the art. I would buy Wuthering Heights, but not at the $4500 price. Especially since the illustratons by Balthus are not to my liking.

Being in the movie business, you have probably seen Death in Venice starring the English actor Dirk Bogard. This is a very dark movie, but I think it captures the book well. Bogard was rumoured to be a homosexual for years and Mann was a homosexual for sure. Nothing wrong with that; just commenting.

>36 leccol:
Leccol, I will share your disappointment about the Black Swan. there is no evident match between the content and the illustrations. They seem to be living separated lives: the nice realistic language of Mann and too abstract pix, that create no emotions.
I guess, Schiffs, Father and son, owner and captain, were in the stage of experimenting with the idea, how far is it possible to move away from the usual approach of illustrating books.
The illustrator, John Hejduck was a modernistic architect, who experimented with the simple shapes, presented in these unusual illustrations. I stay indifferent to these shapes, but the contemporary art connoisseurs may find some emotion in these illustrations.

Ben Shiff had also very successful results , illustrating abstract modern verse with a matching artist. The combination "O'Hara - de Kooning" and "Paz - Motherwell" appeared to be an outstanding piece of book art. The involvement of famous black artists in illustrating LECs was also a successful part of the project. However, the elitism was probably the drive that moved B.Schiff when he designed these books. His message is clear to me: these special books are for very special contemporary art connoisseurs and if you do not get - well, it is too bad.
I am not that special, so a few books are beyond my comprehension, but my obsession helps to ignore this issue. "Keep learning" - I tell myself, - "understanding will appear later."

>37 skyschaker: "Keep learning" - I tell myself, - "understanding will appear later."

Or not. Art is one thing, and book illustration is something other. While I may understand and even admire what an Alexander Calder or Sean Scully may be doing in their art when viewed in its own context, in the context of book illustration, I expect the art to illuminate the book. I'm not saying it has to be a literal depiction of scenes or characters--the famous Matisse illustrations for Ulysses hardly gave you a sense of what pre-war Dublin, Leopold and Molly Bloom or Stephen Dedalus look like, but they do in fact evoke the novel's mythological underpinning. (Incidentally, I do not consider Ulysses to be the best-illustrated LEC.) But when the illustrator's work becomes so intensely personal that there seems no discernible link to the literary component, then I find those kind of illustrations irrelevant at best, and annoying when they seem to imply the illustrator's ideas are more important than the author's.

Although I have not seen the "O'Hara - de Kooning" and "Paz - Motherwell" books, I think you are absolutely right in saying that poetry permits a far greater degree of latitude in what is acceptable, to me, anyway, in illustration.

I wont comment about the above three LECs: these are too expensive for me to even consider. However, the Mann book I wanted to round out the three LECs written by Mann. I think I will enjoy reading it and ignoring the illustrations. After viewing the Sean Scully illustrations, I have decided that already possessing two Fine Press editions of Heart of Darkness that I don't need or desire to possess Scully's rediculous interpretation of this classic novel's illustrations.

The Shiff's, from what I have read, seem to take refuge in the fact that the LEC is no more because rising costs have prevented them from producing the quality of Fine Press which would be necessary to carry on the traditions set by the LEC. I don't believe this: they simply failed to produce what readers and collectors wanted. And along with their elitism, costs soared. George Macy, in the middle of the Great Depression, used such artist as Picasso and Matisse, but their work was what people wanted, and the LEC carried on. The present day failure of the LEC is a direct result of the owners elitism, and their not having a good idea of what collectors desire.

If George Macy could do it during the Depression (which I am really surprised by) then yes your quite right.

Don, I don't think the Shiffs were really interested in carrying on the LEC traditions set by the Macys. George Macy said over and over in his promotional literature that fine illustrated editions of the classics should be available to more than just the richest segment of the population. If you read the early Monthly Letters, especially the Files on Parade section, you can tell he was desperately eager to please the LEC subscribers, and I feel he took it very much to heart when a book he wanted them to appreciate aroused apathy at best and hostility at worst (a prime case in point is Sartor Resartus, which was one of the "ten least popular" books the Club offered in its first decade.

For the Shiffs, it seemed that exclusivity and, as you so accurately point out, elitism, was the order of the day. Whether this was because they wanted the LEC to reflect their own sensibilities, or because the 1500 subscriber base and program of issuing a book a month was no longer economically viable, one can only conjecture. There did seem to be a falloff in the number of subscribers before the change to the model, so perhaps they saw this as a way of maintaining the LEC reputation for producing the finest examples of the bookmaker's art, despite a shrinking subscriber base. Although I am not sympathetic of the new direction taken by the Shiffs, I don't see them as traitors to the cause. The fact that the LEC continued so long when apparently they weren't able to even sell their extremely limited number of publications is a measure of Sid Shiff's dedication to the art of fine press.

I guess I am just second guessing now, so it's time to quit this thread. Seeing the illustrations in The Black Swan coupled with the fact that there are to be no more LECs is enough to try the patience of Arthur Szyk, or JOB?

I think that a new age of Fine Press work can be upon us. The technology is there to produce some great works, and there are certainly enough books available to give readers and collectors a start in developing superior libraries in the future.

The story of The Black Swan, I think, hinges on the myth which was developed so well in the recent movie of the ballet. Essentially, if you see the black swan, you die. Mann's novella is the story of an older woman who becomes involved with a younger man, and although she is beyond the age of menstruation, she starts once again to have a menstrual period. But she sees the Black Swan. Her affair is not a fountain of youth; instead she dies of uterine cancer.

The Nobel Prize winner, Thomas Mann, along with Franz Kafka, are the two greatest German writers of the 20th century. But the illustrations for In the Penal Colony and The Black Swan are the two worst illustrations in the history of the LEC.

I don't think Sartor Resartus was illustrated. Perhaps the two mentioned above should have gone unillustrated.