Lakeside Press
A Chicago printing and publishing imprint of R.R. Donnelley known for fine books, the Lakeside Classics series, and high-quality commercial and reference printing.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Lakeside Press was a Chicago-based printing and publishing imprint associated with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company. It combined the capabilities of a large industrial printer with the design standards of a fine press, producing books, periodicals, catalogs, directories, encyclopedias, advertising materials, and special editions. The imprint became particularly recognized for its work for the Chicago Caxton Club, the Limited Editions Club, and other organizations interested in high-quality book production. The business grew out of Richard Robert Donnelley's Chicago printing enterprise. In 1870, the operation became the Lakeside Printing and Publishing Company, later passing through reorganizations and name changes before becoming part of the Donnelley corporate structure. The company suffered a major setback in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but Donnelley rebuilt the business using his reputation and commercial relationships as its principal assets. During the 1870s, the company also published the Lakeside Library series, establishing an early connection between the Lakeside name and book publishing. Lakeside Press developed a distinctive position by applying modern commercial production methods to books intended to be durable, attractive, and culturally significant. Its work included printing for Encyclopaedia Britannica, Time, Life, Sears, Roebuck catalogs, and promotional material for Ford's Model T, alongside limited and collectible editions. The company was also the official printer for Chicago's 1933–1934 Century of Progress World's Fair, producing tickets, postcards, posters, brochures, and magazines. This combination of industrial scale and design-conscious production helped make the imprint an important example of American twentieth-century commercial printing. The Lakeside Classics series, begun in 1903, was the imprint's most enduring book program. The volumes reprinted neglected or out-of-print works, including autobiographies, speeches, travel narratives, and accounts of American history. Rather than being sold through ordinary retail channels, the books were distributed as Christmas gifts to company employees, making them both corporate gifts and collectible examples of bookmaking. The series continued through successive generations, underwent periodic redesigns, and had reached 113 volumes by 2015. Lakeside Press also made an influential contribution to American book design through the Four American Books campaign of 1926–1930. The project sought to demonstrate that American industrial printing could produce illustrated books comparable with prestigious European presses while promoting American authors and subjects. Its best-known result was Rockwell Kent's illustrated three-volume edition of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, published in 1930. Other books in the campaign included editions of works by Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Henry Dana, and Henry David Thoreau, illustrated or designed by artists including William Addison Dwiggins, Edward A. Wilson, and Rudolph Ruzicka. The imprint was also associated with employee training and the professional culture of printing. In 1908, T. E. Donnelley established the Lakeside Press Apprentice School, combining classroom instruction with practical work in the plant. The program trained compositors, printers, and other workers while promoting the idea that craftsmanship and industrial efficiency could coexist. William A. Kittredge served as director of design and typography from 1922 to 1945 and commissioned work from several notable American designers and illustrators. Lakeside Press operated from facilities connected with the Lakeside Press Building in Chicago. The company opened the Lakeside Galleries in 1929, presenting exhibitions of art, photography, typography, and book design until the early 1960s. Changes in technology, labor relations, racial inequality, management, and international competition contributed to the decline of the Chicago manufacturing operation. The plant closed in 1993, after which production moved to other R.R. Donnelley facilities. The Lakeside name survives primarily through its historical association with American printing, fine press production, and the Lakeside Classics books.
History
Lakeside Press developed within the Chicago printing business founded by Richard Robert Donnelley in 1864. In 1870, Donnelley's operation became the Lakeside Printing and Publishing Company, later undergoing reorganizations and operating under related Donnelley names. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed the business, forcing Donnelley to rebuild. The company subsequently expanded from local printing into book production and commercial printing, including the Lakeside Library series during the 1870s. The imprint's identity was shaped by its ability to produce both large quantities of commercial material and carefully designed books. Lakeside Press printed catalogs for Sears, Roebuck, promotional literature for Ford's Model T, telephone directories, encyclopedias, periodicals, advertising, and reference works such as Encyclopaedia Britannica. It also produced books for the Chicago Caxton Club and the Limited Editions Club, developing a reputation for typography, illustration, paper, binding, and overall finish. In 1903, Lakeside Press began the Lakeside Classics series. The original concept was to create a substantial annual gift for employees rather than a book available for ordinary retail purchase. The first volume was an autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Later books emphasized speeches, autobiographies, travel accounts, exploration, the Civil War, the American West, and other aspects of American history. The restricted distribution and high production standards made the volumes attractive to collectors. Design changes occurred periodically, including a 1995 change from the word 'Christmas' to 'December' on the title page and a larger redesign in 2003 involving designer Bruce Campbell. By 2015, the series comprised 113 volumes. Employee training was another important part of the company's institutional history. In 1908, T. E. Donnelley established the Lakeside Press Apprentice School, modeled partly on the apprenticeship system of the Chaix Printing Company in Paris. Apprentices received instruction while working in the plant, which was described as the school's laboratory. The program helped supply skilled workers and managers, although the company's labor structure also reflected the racial inequalities of American industry. As Chicago's Black population grew, non-white workers faced barriers to advancement, and racial tensions became more prominent during the 1960s. From 1922 to 1945, William A. Kittredge directed design and typography. He commissioned work from figures such as Rudolph Ruzicka, Edward A. Wilson, and William Addison Dwiggins. The Four American Books campaign, organized by Kittredge and C. G. Littell between 1926 and 1930, aimed to show that modern American machinery could produce books of fine-press quality while promoting American literature. The campaign included Dwiggins's edition of Edgar Allan Poe's tales, Wilson's edition of Two Years Before the Mast, Ruzicka's Walden, and Rockwell Kent's celebrated three-volume Moby-Dick. Kent's Moby-Dick was issued in a limited edition of 1,000 copies in an aluminum slipcase and later served as the basis for a wider trade edition printed by Lakeside Press. Lakeside Press expanded its cultural role in 1929 by opening Lakeside Galleries in its Chicago building. Until corporate headquarters moved in 1961, the galleries presented exhibitions involving American and European artists and photographers, typography, and book design. The company also served as official printer for the 1933–1934 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago, producing its printed promotional and visitor materials. The Chicago plant faced increasing pressure from technological change, labor conflict, racial stratification, layoffs, and global competition. The manufacturing facility closed in 1993, with work redistributed among other R.R. Donnelley plants. Lakeside Press therefore ceased to function as a standalone Chicago production center, while the Lakeside Classics and the imprint's historical book designs continued to represent its legacy.
- 2003
Lakeside Classics redesigned
[1]Bruce Campbell worked on a major redesign that restored gold cover framing and changed the typeface from Bulmer to Garamond.
- 1993
Chicago plant closed
[1]The Lakeside Press plant shut down and production moved to other R.R. Donnelley locations.
- 1933
Official printer for the Century of Progress World's Fair
[1]Lakeside Press produced official tickets, postcards, posters, brochures, and magazines for Chicago's 1933–1934 World's Fair.
- 1930
Four American Books publications completed
[1]The campaign culminated in books including Rockwell Kent's influential illustrated edition of Moby-Dick.
- 1929
Lakeside Galleries opened
[1]The company opened exhibition galleries in its Chicago building for art, photography, typography, and book design.
- 1926
Four American Books campaign launched
[1]Lakeside Press began a program intended to demonstrate the capabilities of American industrial book production.
- 1922
William A. Kittredge becomes design and typography director
[1]Kittredge began a long period overseeing design and typography and commissioning notable artists and designers.
- 1908
Apprentice school founded
[1]T. E. Donnelley established the Lakeside Press Apprentice School to combine classroom education with practical printing work.
- 1903
Lakeside Classics begins
[1]The press issued the first volume of its annual employee-gift series of carefully produced historical and literary reprints.
- 1871
Business destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire
[1]The Chicago operation was destroyed and subsequently rebuilt by Donnelley.
Products and positioning
A design-led industrial printing imprint that connected mass-production capability with fine-book craftsmanship, American literary culture, and corporate publishing services.
Book series · 1903
Lakeside Classics
An annual series of finely produced reprints and selections from American history and literature. Initially distributed to employees as a Christmas gift rather than sold publicly, the books included autobiographies, speeches, travel narratives, and accounts of the Civil War, the American West, exploration, and frontier life. Their restricted distribution, durable production, and periodic redesigns made them widely collected.
Fine-edition book program · 1926
Four American Books
A 1926–1930 program designed to establish that American industrial printing could produce illustrated books equal to prestigious European fine presses. The books featured American authors and leading artists, including William Addison Dwiggins, Edward A. Wilson, Rudolph Ruzicka, and Rockwell Kent.
Illustrated fine edition · 1930
Moby-Dick, or The Whale
Rockwell Kent's illustrated edition of Herman Melville's novel was issued by Lakeside Press in 1930 as a three-volume limited edition of 1,000 copies in an aluminum slipcase. Kent's stark visual treatment helped strengthen the book's reputation and influenced later editions, including a wider trade version printed by Lakeside Press.
Industrial printing services
Commercial and reference printing
Lakeside Press produced catalogs, telephone directories, encyclopedias, periodicals, advertising, promotional literature, and other high-volume materials. Its clients and projects included Encyclopaedia Britannica, Time, Life, Sears, Roebuck, and Ford promotional work.
Marketing campaigns
- 1926Four American Books
United States
Lakeside Press sought to prove that modern American commercial machinery could produce illustrated books with the quality associated with European fine presses. The campaign emphasized American authors and used prominent artists and designers.
Outcome. The program culminated in four notable books published around 1930, with the Rockwell Kent Moby-Dick becoming its best-known achievement and later receiving major critical and institutional attention.
Brand decisions
1993
Close the Chicago manufacturing plantStrategyBackground
The operation faced technological change, labor contention, layoffs, racial inequality, and growing international competition.
Action taken
The Lakeside Press plant was closed and production was transferred to other R.R. Donnelley facilities.
Aftermath
Lakeside Press ceased to operate as a standalone Chicago production center, although the imprint's publishing legacy continued through the Lakeside Classics and its historical editions.
1926
Use fine-book production to enter the trade-book conversationStrategyBackground
Lakeside Press wanted to demonstrate that a large commercial printer could rival prestigious European presses and build credibility in high-quality book publishing.
Action taken
The company launched the Four American Books campaign with American authors, prominent illustrators, and an emphasis on modern design.
Aftermath
The campaign produced influential editions, especially Moby-Dick, and strengthened Lakeside Press's reputation in American book design.
1903
Create the Lakeside Classics employee-gift seriesProduct launchBackground
The company wanted a distinctive gift that would demonstrate its own printing and bookmaking capabilities and would not be an ordinary retail product.
Action taken
Lakeside Press began issuing annual volumes of carefully printed historical and literary reprints for distribution to employees.
Aftermath
The series became a long-running publishing institution and a collectible representation of the company's production standards.
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