Acquisitions 2026

I have ordered 17 books for $460, all VG+ or better.

Monsieur Beaucaire
Kenilworth
Diary of a Country Priest
Confessions of St. Augustine
Journal of the Plague Year
Master of Ballantrae
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
William Tell
Sonnets of Petrarch
Les Pensees
History of Tom Jones (1952)
The Overcoat / The Government Inspector
Flaubert Three Tales
The Satyricon
Chekhov Short Stories
Tender is the Night
Three Men in a Boat

I am not sure why most of these books are so cheap, but I am glad for it! I was looking at other "fine press" recently and you're lucky to get a single book for $500 from many of them.

>1 rogerthat2: At an average price of under $28 per copy, I'd say you did pretty darned good! And you've got some good reading ahead of you.

>1 rogerthat2:

I paid a little more than half of what you paid for the 17 for The Diary of A Country Priest alone. Well done!

>3 Django6924: Wow, the market for it must have gone down in recent years.

Are you guys still buying or do you have a complete collection?

I'm just pushing 50 LECs so I have a long ways to go (but have close to 100 HP, 200 FS, and I'm satisfied with them unless the LEC is a good deal).

I went out on a limb and blind ordered Sherlock Holmes first set of 3 for $110. Supposedly 2 of them have glassine on them still. Knowing this is the rarest of the 3 sets and quite desirable, I didn't want to wait until Monday for pictures.

>5 rogerthat2: I see someone now bought the entire series that was up on Abe (around $450) for the longest time. Not a bad deal. :-)

Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. From Oak Knoll. $70, with Monthly Letter, really minor discoloration on the spine, probably VG+ or NF and really happy with it overall.

I ordered A Streetcar Named Desire from thriftbooks for $8. Usually they send HP books instead of LEC, but a HP of this doesn't seem to exist so I'm curious if it's actually the LEC and what condition it will be in.

Side note, I'm surprised this book is so expensive, guess it's very popular.

>8 rogerthat2:
Hmmm, that price sets off alarm bells. If it's in decent shape, it's a steal.

>9 Django6924: So far I've received the correct book only 3 times out of 75+ from them but I still feel hopeful every time. At least they make it easy to get a refund when the wrong book arrives.

I ordered a G- copy w/o slipcase of Marcus Aurelius for $25. This book is clearly quite rare and similar condition copies have gone for $100 on eBay before, so I'll be content with in unless I happen to find a deal on a better one.

I ordered a VG copy of Explorations of Captain James Cook for $35. I already have the HP and have little interest in the contents so I really don't need this, but the binding looks so cool that I just had to order it.

I ordered a VG+ copy of Death In Venice for $23.

I finally ordered the 1933 Don Quixote, despite the apparent white marks (dye fading? mildew?) on the spines, for $105. I don't normally buy such expensive books, and I remember NOT liking Don Quixote when I read it in my youth, but I was sure to have buyer's remorse if I didn't pull the trigger. Aside from the whiteness and quite worn slipcase, the books looked to be in excellent condition.

There was another good deal I was excited about, that unfortunately got away. I tried messaging the seller for pictures to confirm it, but was getting no response. Finally I ordered it, which also got no response. The seller's phone number was out of service. I searched for their obituary and sure enough they died a month ago.

For $155 I just ordered:

- The Golden Ass, VG. The leather is not pure white, rather beige, but not ugly brown or cracking like most copies out there.
- The Anabasis of Xenophon, VG+.
- Tales of Mystery & Imagination. G- with worn spine and lacking slipcase. Given that it is a rarer one which a pretty bland binding to begin with that seems easily prone to wear, I'll be content with it.

Unfortunately from 3 different sellers so I'm looking at another $25 in shipping forwarding fees, but they were 3 I quite wanted at decent prices.

>9 Django6924: Actually got the correct book! Slipcase split and spine a bit faded by I won't complain.
https://imgur.com/a/94JYO18

>14 rogerthat2: wow, this is an unbelievable score! I got mine for $60 and it was much cheaper than average at the time - without slipcase or ML.

I have also tried my luck with thriftbooks several times with zero success - always received, random incorrect editions.

My copy of LEC "Song of Roland" finally arrived, unfortunately it got banged up like hell by FedEx, and sat in a (damp, i assume) warehouse for two weeks longer than expected.
I'll see if the sadly noticeable hint of mushroom smell goes away after a few more weeks in a box with charcoal, can't do anything about the bumped corners.
-___-

>16 JanPospisilCZ: Well, that s**ks. I hate it when books get damaged en route. It hasn't happened to me very often, for which I am grateful, but it has and it always saddens me.

It's so wildly relative to...well, anything. I also recently got a late 19th century copy of William Morris' "The Story of the Ere Dwellers" - over 130 years old, in near fine condition - the book looks like it was kept in a safe. Just because the people at Pegana Press/Magic Bookshop packed it well and the shipping company didn't treat it like absolute animals.
I think even if the smell goes away I'll just sell it locally and see if I can get another Roland sometime in the future. (it does look gorgeous!)

>10 rogerthat2: so far I've received the correct book only 3 times out of 75+ from them
>14 rogerthat2: Actually got the correct book!

So 4 out of 75+ now? :)
Congrats, that's an unreal deal!

Usually, I buy LECs in spurts. I'd buy some LECs, then I'd refocus my attention to "high priority" items - often in-print editions about to sell out - and the LEC wish list gets pushed to the back burner, with justification that I can always find LECs later. But then I would either see LECs in a bookshop or would get an alert for a LEC from the top of my wish list going for a steal, acquire a LEC, get reminded what an incredible value LECs are - even the majority of the more expensive titles - and then go on a little LEC-buying rampage.

This happened again. After a few months of LEC abstinence, I walked into Second Story Books in Washington, DC earlier this week and walked out with Tales of Soldiers and Civilians and Maggie, A Girl of the Streets. And now, all of a sudden, I have the following on the way to me:
A Voice of the City - bargained down to $70
The Leopard for $60
The Magician of Lublin for $60
From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon set for $30
The Frogs sans slipcase free of charge

Not too bad, I think.

>20 elladan0891:
Excellent prices on A Voice and The Leopard, congratulations!

>20 elladan0891:

Amazing prices on all. Hard to believe The Frogs was thrown into the cart for free. Your shopping experience is comparable to going to a restaurant, ordering vichyssoise, chateaubriand, with trianon for dessert, paying "blue plate special" prices, and having the restaurateur throw in Veuve Clicquot "on the house"! Of all the illustrations done for the LEC by John Austen, his wood engravings for Aristophanes are the only ones I really like.

I saw those go on eBay. Not the best condition, no slipcase for leopard either iirc.

I purchased the Oregon Trail for $100+shipping, supposed to be Near Fine with chemise and slipcase. I might regret this but it seemed like a decent deal on a rare LEC. I only see 2 other copies for sale, both at double the price and with condition issues.

Managed to get the Anabasis from an eBay seller I bought a few other non-LEC books from. Decent price, lovely condition. Sometimes it goes right. :)

I ordered The Education of Henry Adams (VG+) for $25.

>26 rogerthat2: The wood engravings are fantastic.

I finally managed to buy my favourite book that I wanted to acquire for years but never did either because it was too expensive or because none were available: The 2 volume The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton for £300 / $400. Slightly damaged slipcase, no monthly letter. I was so intrigued after attending the play/musical of Alexander Hamilton in London that it's been on my list since.

>28 ironjaw:

Faisel, that is one of my favorite LECs of all! Everything about it is perfectly in keeping with the subject matter and is an outstanding example of the artistry of the best book designer of the 20th century, Bruce Rogers. I had a beautiful copy in very Fine condition with Monthly Letter that I eventually sold, but I will retain to the last the HP version, which though only in a single volume, is a worthy replica of the original.

>29 Django6924: I have just started working my way through the Federalist Papers (9 down, 76 to go) which I was reading in the LOA versions, but after reading your praise of the HP, I just grabbed a reading copy of the HP off eBay for $8. If nothing else, it’ll fill the gaps in the LOA volumes I’m using (Hamilton’s Writings and the 2 volume Debate on the Constitution), but I think I’ll be nice to toggle back and forth. Coincidentally, the most recent Thornwillow Dispatch contained Federalists 10, 51, and 78, so I’ll even get some letterpress ones in, if not a Bruce Rogers design for those.

>29 Django6924:

Robert, absolutely thrilled - I've never felt so excited. Two of my favourites are Bruce Rogers and Edward A. Wilson. Hopefully the books arrive all good in one piece. I used to be very particular on slipcase conditions before but now I see them as protectors of the books. I've calmed down a lot with the older I've become. So many times I've received battered slipcases with fine or very fine books inside. However it's almost two years or four? since my last LEC purchase I think. I don't have much space left, all bookcases are full and I've unsubscribed so many publisher emails. I've come to my senses that I need to start reading and enjoying my books while I work 18 hours a day! I put off so much that over the last six or so years haven't read much because of my busy schedule. Now I multitask. Read wherever and whenever I can.

I hope you are doing well, my friend.

I don't understand how this was a good buy:
https://hibid.com/lot/290413665/hard-cover-books-incl-limited-editions-club

I'm surprised to see it is a book reseller who bought these.

They are trying to resell them on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/157826479511
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168271861354
https://www.ebay.com/itm/157811843578
https://www.ebay.com/itm/168302119241

They paid paid $130+18%=$153.40+shipping. They listed the above for $300, but will realistically only get half of what they are asking and it will be a hard sell (eg. half of Casanova set). The 3 other books are worth maybe $50.

Just some ephemera but couple of nice pickups: The Inside Story for The Wind in the Willows, which seems to be even rarer than normal Monthly Letters from the same time period, and Hamlet is Reborn! Broadside for "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. With Engravings by Eric. Gill"

Thanks to astropi for mentioning the hamlet one a long time ago otherwise I don't think I would even know it existed. Now time to wait 10 years for a fine copy with Monthly Letter to show up.

I purchased a copy of The Battle of Waterloo at a library book sale in New Jersey today for two dollars, but it's odd. It has a gold strip with "(The) Howard Press Limited Edition, Winter 1986" stuck over the line where LEC and the year 1977 should be. A gold plate covers copyright information on the other side. The last page has another plate covering the LEC name and publication information but the Drew Middleton signature and copy number show. An LEC-style newsletter describes the Howard Press and the other three pages are about the book. The slipcase is blank. I assume Howard Press purchased unsold and returned books from LEC under the condition that LEC's name is hidden. Has anyone seen this before?

>34 OutsideFood: Interesting. I'd contact Carol Grossman (Four Rivers Books). I DM'd you with her email address.

Howard Press is/was a printing services company and these were obviously intended as gifts to clients, but I've not seen any like this before.

>34 OutsideFood: >35 Glacierman: My copy of Winesburg, Ohio is like this too.

>36 imkdir: Curiouser and curiouser.

What a weird rabbit hole we've uncovered...

I bought Great Expectations for $55 (typical condition, no slipcase). Seemed like a worthy edition to have, particularly since it has the alternate ending.

I also bought the hopefully fine condition Persuasion for $28 last week.

Regarding the LEC/Howard Press books--I contacted Carol Grossman and asked her about what happened with these books. She wrote back:

"Michael—I don’t know. The book dates from a dark time for the LEC—membership was way down and a lot of books were sitting in a warehouse. Gordon Carroll was dying. Waterloo was one of the last books done under the Carrolls. Winesburg was the first done under the new owners including Sid Shiff, about a year and a half later (even though much of the design and production work had already been done or was planned). There was a still a large inventory of earlier books when Sid took over. After all this time, there’s probably little to be learned about something like this.

"Could these two books have been mock-ups for a venture that didn’t survive? The letter does remind me of the Illinois Gear & Machine Company books that came out in the 1960’s and 70’s—Heritage Press books were rebound in a standard leather binding (in different colors) and used as gifts for the Company. If so, the gold paper was probably temporary to show placement of the new names and information. It would have been fairly straightforward to reprint and replace the title and colophon pages.

"I don’t recall anyone named Howard involved with the LEC, and also don’t recall a press with that name involved with the LEC. Also, there were sales of old titles, to members, for example, but all the books I know about had the full LEC publishing information.

"I wish I could give you more information on this! Please let me know if you find out anything else about these!"

I then asked if I could share her email with this group and she said "sure! perhaps someone will come forward with more information about the project!". Anyone have any ideas?

Steal of a deal!
https://imgur.com/a/rSAM7gQ
$8 USD + $8 shipping to Canada.

Thrift books is now about 3/70 for sending the right book.
I'm surprised it's in near fine condition since they only graded it Good.
Pages uncut so this book was never read!

>41 rogerthat2:
It may just be the deal of the decade! Congratulations on your score. Be gentle with it if it has not already had its spine broken. My copy suffers from this, but still I love it.

>41 rogerthat2: Congrats! That is quite a good percentage haha. They usually agree to refund so it is not so painful to take risks and order those Kelmscott Chaucers.

>41 rogerthat2: I dithered and watched it go out of stock. Congratulations!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/377151804551

Thanks! Yea they always refund, though sometimes it requires some argument, so it's not risky, just time consuming. I was on the fence about ordering this one too, expecting the wrong book in poor condition. My hard work finally paid off! Just luck!

>45 rogerthat2:

The pre-WWII Mardersteig books are such gems; outstanding buy!

A copy of The Four Gospels arrived to Sweden with nontrivial foxing. I’m going to try returning it, a first attempt ever through eBay I think. If I have to pay shipping it might come close to the purchase price, sadly. Though that means the price was good at least, 75 USD. And what a lovely book!

>47 GusLogan:
What a shame! If the foxing was neither described nor adequately displayed in photographs, it has been my experience the seller is responsible for return shipping.

Eric Gill's 1933 Hamlet. It took me a long time to find a copy. It is rather expensive compared to other early LECs, and the pig skin binding often is not well preserved. The size of the book is 5.25 by 8 inches. It is on the smaller side but nevertheless is extremely readable. You can comfortably hold the book in bed, on the train, or laying at the beach. This copy appears unread as pages are still uncut. I am looking forward to reading it. If you are on a budget but want a taste of Gill's craft, I recommend the 1936 LEC A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, which is every bit as good as Hamlet and can be had for under $100.

>49 BuzzBuzzard: Thanks for sharing these pictures.

Congratulations on finding a nice copy of the Hamlet illustrated by Eric Gill!

I recently watched the Kenneth Branagh production of Hamlet. Act III, Scene I includes a woman who has no lines, and I wondered if this was Branagh interpreting Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘drabbing’ as an allusion to said woman. Seeing that Gill included a woman in his illustration, I now wonder whether Branagh had a copy of the Gill Hamlet?

It’s a wonderfully illustrated book and I only wish there were more copies available. Gill’s cover illustration is near-perfect for the play. Did Heritage Press ever publish the Gill Hamlet?

>50 Whaiwhakaiho: I do not think that the Heritage Press reissued Gill’s Hamlet.

>50 Whaiwhakaiho:
Heritage Press never reproduced Gill's Hamlet nor any of the individual plays in the 37-volume Shakespeare set. The only individual Shakespeare plays in the HP canon are the Sauvage-illustrated Romeo and Juliet (a gem, uncommon to find and expensive) and Henry V--a misguided attempt to illustrate the play with still frames from Olivier's film version.

All the plays were issued by the HP in a 3-volume set with the Tragedies illustrated by Agnes Miller Parker, the Histories by John Farleigh, and the Comedies by Edward Ardizzone. The B&W wood engravings by Parker and Farleigh are excellent, as one would expect from these two British masters of the technique. Ardizzone's color illustrations are not inspired, but I should qualify that by saying he is my least favorite of the illustrators Macy used frequently, so others may esteem them more.

The illustrations are sparse in the three volumes, usually just a frontis and 2 additional per play. The text used is Peter Alexander's Tudor Edition Shakespeare, which eschews the period spelling of the LEC First Folio text in favor of modern spelling and punctuation. Each volume is large and quite heavy, so better suited for library table reading.

>46 Django6924: I agree, it's one of the nicest LECs I own and towers above their 1940s and later books (which are also very nice).

I finally got Swiss Family Robinson from thriftbooks! I ordered 17 copies of this book over the last year and finally received a LEC. The first 16 were small children's editions.

>54 rogerthat2:
Frankly, this strikes me as extremely wasteful. The fact that you are reimbursed for your purchases does not make them free for the planet. Thriftbooks obviously has a poorly designed business model, but the choice to use it in this way is yours. You don’t even need to believe in climate change to see the waste in packaging, fuel etc.

>55 GusLogan: I am definitely surprised that they can get so many wrong book complaints and not bother fixing their system (ISBNs mapped to the wrong books). There are a few books that seem to be especially plagued with this issue, such as Swiss Family Robinson. I had a theory that if I kept trying I'd eventually get the right book. Living in Canada, shipping costs/availability are a big concern, usually have to arrange shipping forwarding with any small sellers, so the mega sellers are always nice to order from, despite their other flaws and challenges.

Bad for climate change? Probably, but books in general and all of humanity are bad from that metric.

Worthwhile for the effort involved to have saved $40 over the cost of another copy? Not particularly, but I'm happy it finally worked. They have 2 more copies listed for sale right now if anyone wants to try your luck.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses (LEC).

This is one of those books that I've always wanted but at the same time hesitated to order for a long time. Finally, a decent copy at a bargain price appeared out of nowhere haha.

>57 Lukas1990: Congrats! I assume you ordered the $105 copy on eBay?

I just ordered the $38+$8 The Possessed that popped up on eBay. Been pretty quiet otherwise lately.

>58 rogerthat2: Thanks! I ordered via Biblio.

https://www.biblio.com/details.php?dcx=1769703885&aid=vialibri&utm_sourc...

>59 Lukas1990: Same copy as the one I had seen on eBay. :-)

>58 rogerthat2: I followed up on my order of The Possessed with a 1949 The Brothers Karamazov set for $45. This is a craigslist purchase from a seller that seems rather sketchy so we'll see if it actually arrives.