The Limited Editions Club was founded in 1929 by George Macy (1900-1956) to publish finely made and finely illustrated limited editions of the classics of literature - and of a few carefully selected contemporary titles (such as Batouala by Rene Maran).

Most of the books were beautifully illustrated with original artwork by leading book illustrators. In most cases, the illustrators handsigned each copy of the books that they illustrated for the LEC. Some books were published unsigned due to the unexpected death of the artist before publication, as happened with the The Arabian Nights illustrated by Arthur Szyk, Comus illustrated by Edmund Dulac, and the Arthur Rackham illustrated Wind In The Willows.

George Macy also commissioned some major fine art artists to illustrate LEC books with original etchings, lithographs, etc., which were bound into the books; artists such as Matisse, Picasso, Derain, Laurencin, and other members of the Paris School. He also commissioned a number of American masters of that period, largely from the Social Realism and American Regionalism schools of art. Included were Reginald Marsh, Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry. In addition, he commissioned major photographers, including Edward Weston and Edward Steichen, to illustrate LEC books. The artists and photographers handsigned all copies of the books that they illustrated.

Some LEC books were signed not only by the artist, but also by famous book designers and by the authors, such as The Complete Poems of Robert Frost (1950), which was signed by the poet, Robert Frost; the book-designer, Bruce Rogers; and the artist/illustrator, Thomas Nason. And most copies of the books, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, were signed by Alice Hargreaves, the original Alice, Lewis Carroll's niece. A small number of LEC books were issued unillustrated, and were usually signed by the book-designer and/or the printer.

The two most sought after (and valuable) LEC books published under Macy's leadership are Lysistrata, illustrated and signed by Pablo Picasso, 1934; and Ulysses, illustrated and signed by Henri Matisse, 1935. A limited number of the copies of Ulysses were also signed by the author, James Joyce.

The LEC issued up to twelve books each year (it varied) to a small group of subscribers. During ownership by the Macy family, LEC books were usually limited to 1500 copies, but with several exceptions. The original subscription price in 1929 of an LEC book was $10, discounted by 10% if the subscriber paid a year in advance.

After George Macy's death in 1956, his wife, Helen, took over and directed the operations of the LEC until her death in 1968. From 1968 until 1970, the club was operated by her son, Jonathan Macy, and other family members. In 1970, the LEC (together with The Heritage Press and The Heritage Club), was sold to Boise Cascade Corporation. Boise Cascade sold it to Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Ziff-Davis sold it to Cardavon Press. Cardavon operated the LEC unsuccessfully for most of the 1970's, finally putting it on the block for sale.

Cardavon had raised the limitation to 2000 copies, and had sold The Heritage Press & The Heritage Club to The Danbury Mint (a sister company to The Easton Press) to generate needed cash. The Heritage Press and The Heritage Club were, respectively, the publisher and distributor of inexpensive, unlimited, and unsigned reprint editions of books which had previously been published by the Limited Editions Club. As a result of that sale, today The Easton Press has the reprint publishing rights for those LEC titles.

The current owner of the LEC, Sidney Shiff, acquired it from Cardavon in 1978. Over the next decade, Mr. Shiff gradually changed the focus of the club, and eventually began producing only Livres d'Artiste illustrated with original artwork by major "fine art" artists, rather than book illustrators. And he also gradually reduced the number of copies printed. As of 2004, the limitation per edition was 300 copies, and the annual subscription rate was $5,000 for from one to four books per year.

The books from the later Shiff years are for serious collectors of fine art, as well as for collectors of fine literature published in fine press editions. The artists commissioned by Mr. Shiff include such lofty names as Jacob Lawrence, Balthus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elizabeth Catlett, Francesco Clemente, Ellsworth Kelly, Sean Scully, Alice Neel, and others.

For a Checklist of all books published by the Limited Editions Club from its inception, please click on this link.

To View And Purchase Limited Editions Club Books, Please Click Here.

NOTICE: This website is not affiliated with the Limited Editions Club in any way. My inventory of Limited Editions Club books consists of collections and individual volumes purchased from original subscribers, executors of estates, heirs, other individuals, and at auctions.

The current listing for the LEC in the Manhattan telephone directory (as of April 16, 2008) is:

Telephone number: (212) 838-4040
Address: 654 Madison Ave, Rm 1409, New York, NY 10065 .