|
RR Donnelley was founded in 1864, and the Fortune
500 company's headquarters are still based in
Chicago. In the Christmas of 1903, Donnelley
published the first edition of its Lakeside Classics
books. One was gifted to each employee, and none
were sold to the public. That tradition continues
today. In 1903 1,000 copies were printed of the
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.* By 1919,
Lakeside Classics were in the book collector market,
and Iroquois Theater manager
Will J. Davis had several in his collection. It was a hobby shared with his defense attorney
Levi Mayer, and another of the defense attorneys,
Alfred Austrian
|
 |
Will Davis was a casual book collector, his volumes
representing his friendships and interests as much
as an affection for rare books. For example, his
rather large collection of Roycroft Press, including
several nice hand-illuminated volumes, was likely
inspired by the enthusiasm for Elbert Hubbard and Roycroft held by Davis' theater friends Ellen Terry and Modjeska.
Volumes about Native American history stemmed from his interest in the Iroquois his friendship with Bram Stoker and English Shakespearean actor
Henry Irving
|
|
Discrepancies and addendum
* Today, the Ben Franklin volume sells in the
collector's market for $300-$1,000, depending upon
the condition, and can be found at Abes, Ebay,
Amazon, etc.
|
