Behind the Limited Editions Club Research Paper by MarkMaster

An informative analysis of the history of the Limited Edition's Book Club out of New York.
# 146692 | 2,582 words | 4 sources | MLA | 2011 | US
Published on Jan 13, 2011 in English (General) , Literature (General)


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Description:

This paper focuses on the Limited Edition's Book Club, a collective of bibliophiles out of New York. The paper explains that the club embodies the idea of preserving history, of holding time on a bookshelf; accounts of the Great War, a style of art, a mysterious civilization, or even something as esoteric as a typographical tradition is the key to understanding the value of the Limited Editions Club to the contemporary collector. For example, the paper asserts, fine bindings, illustrations, maps, handmade paper, gilt spines, association copies, limited editions, clam shell slipcases, Moroccan or vellum bindings or pages, blind-stamped boards, and handmade elephant folio boxes with intricate folds and perfect seals represent just a few of the reasons an edition is considered unique or rare. The paper concludes by noting that today, the LEC continues to produce fine objets d' arte for about three hundred subscribers.

From the Paper:

"Bibliophiles have quietly collected for centuries: from the beginning at Alexandria where a commitment was made to gather all of the world's knowledge to the Reverend John Harvard who endowed the first library in British North America (hence, the Massachusetts's Bay Colony ordered the college to be named) and the 20's contemporary, JP Morgan who stared at one of the largest rare book collections in the world. Their interests in subject matter varied: Americana, classic literature, ancient history, incunabula, and nautical lore. But perhaps just as important to the book collector as subject matter are books as physical objects. The spines on a shelf, the binding, the crackle of paper as the book opens, the smell of dry ink and leather, perhaps, or the feathery skin of cloth boards."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Basbanes, Nicholas A. A Gentle Madness. New York: Henry Holt, 1995. Z992.B34 (Narrative non-fiction survey of book collecting with in-depth anecdotes of unusual bibliophiles.)
  • Grossman, Carol. "East Side Story." Biblio March 1999: 30. (Well-organized article with history of the LEC, but focused on the Sid Schiff era.)
  • Macy, Helen. Quarto-Millenary The First 250 Publications and the First 25 Years 1929-1954 of the Limited Editions Club. New York: LEC, 1959. Z1028.L55 (A bibliography of the first 250 editions produced by the LEC with many images of title pages an illustrators' works.)
  • McMurtrie, Douglas C. The Book The Story of Printing and Bookmaking. New York: Oxford, 1943. Z4.M15 (Historical survey of printing, up to Modernists, etc...)

Cite this Research Paper:

APA Format

Behind the Limited Editions Club (2011, January 13) Retrieved June 06, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/research-paper/behind-the-limited-editions-club-146692/

MLA Format

"Behind the Limited Editions Club" 13 January 2011. Web. 06 June. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/research-paper/behind-the-limited-editions-club-146692/>

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