George Macy

George Macy (1900–1956) was an American publisher.

Career

George Macy was born in New York City in 1900. He graduated in 1917 with general honors from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. [1]

In 1926, he founded Macy-Masius, which was sold to the Vanguard Press in 1928.

In 1929, he founded the Limited Editions Club, publishing finely illustrated books that were limited to 1500 copies and signed by the author or artist who were famous in the graphic arts.[2][3][4] On November 14, 2024 a complete run of Limited Editions Club publications, sold for $34,925 by Freeman's|Hindman Auction House. [5]

American Institute of Graphic Arts medal awarded to George Macy in 1953.

By setting up a subscription service, Macy was able to work with a larger budget for subscribers. His goal was to create a more affordable way for classic books to get to the masses.[6] Artists contracted to illustrate books were given a lot of freedom and budget, but also sometimes lost his gambles.[7] The 1935 publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses was illustrated with line drawings by Henri Matisse, which are almost unrelated to the text.[8]

In 1935, he expanded his publishing with The Heritage Press.[9] Macy worked that year with Nonesuch Press to rescue it from its financial difficulties. The first project was with the complete works of Charles Dickens in 1938.[10]

A Soldier's Reader 1943. 751 pages. Book for soldiers to take with them in World War II

In 1943 he edited and published A Soldier’s Reader: A Volume Containing Four Hundred Thousand Words of Select Literary Entertainment for the American Soldier on the Ground or in the Air. [11]

Macy became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor after a 1948 display of his work at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.[12] In 1952 the British Library held an exhibit of his work.[7]

In 1953 he was awarded the AIGA medal for his work as a publisher by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.[13]

At services held in Macy's memory after his death 1956 Nunnally Johnson spoke of his great love of fine and beautiful books which "more than any man in the long history of bookmaking, he caused to be fashioned exquisitely and to be brought into homes that never before could afford the unimaginable joy of possessing them."[14]

Macy's wife, Helen Macy, continued the work of The Limited Editions Club and Heritage Press until 1968 when their son became head of the company.[9] The firms were sold to various publishing companies in 1970. These include the Boise-Cascade Company.[15]

Publications of The Heritage Press

The original six publications that the Heritage Press published were released in November and December of 1935.[16]

The original six artist-signed copies were:[16]

  1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens/John Austen
  2. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare/Sylvain Sauvage
  3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne/W.A. Dwiggins
  4. The Song of Songs which is Solomon/Valenti Angelo
  5. The Story of Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost/Pierre Brissaud
  6. A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman/Edward A. Wilson

References

  1. ^ Bussacco, Michael C."A Heritage Press Retrospective." BookThink August 14, 2006.
  2. ^ "George Macy Companies, Inc.: Limited Editions Club and The Heritage Press: A Preliminary Inventory of its Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center". norman.hrc.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  3. ^ Burke, Jackson; Ettenberg, Eugene M. (1998-01-01). John S. Fass & the Hammer Creek Press. David R. Godine Publisher. ISBN 9781567920864.
  4. ^ Bruckner, D. j r (1982-04-12). "LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB, ILLUSTRATION OF A COMEBACK". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  5. ^ Lot 131.[LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB]. A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, Freeman's|Hindman Auction House.
  6. ^ "Buying and Selling the Heritage Press - A Primer". www.bookthink.com. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  7. ^ a b Grossman, Carol (March 1999). "East Side Story: Two Faces of the Limited Editions Club" (PDF). BIBLO. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  8. ^ Benstock, Shari (1980). "The Double Image of Modernism: Matisse's Etchings for "Ulysses"". Contemporary Literature. 21 (3): 450–479. doi:10.2307/1208252. JSTOR 1208252.
  9. ^ a b Inc., George Macy Companies. "George Macy Companies, Inc.: Limited Editions Club and The Heritage Press: A Preliminary Inventory of its Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center". www.lib.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2016-01-03. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ Hansen, Thomas (2005-01-01). Classic Book Jackets: The Design Legacy of George Salter. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568984919.
  11. ^ Macy, George, ed. 1943. A Soldier’s Reader : A Volume Containing Four Hundred Thousand Words of Select Literary Entertainment for the American Soldier on the Ground or in the Air. New York: Heritage Press.
  12. ^ Johnson, Nunnally, and Limited Editions Club. 1956. A Tribute to George Macy. New York: For members of the Limited Editions Club.
  13. ^ "TV Shows and Movies - Watch Your Favorite TV Episodes and Movies Online | Hulu". Hulu. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  14. ^ Johnson, Nunnally, and Limited Editions Club. 1956. A Tribute to George Macy. New York: For members of the Limited Editions Club, p.6.
  15. ^ "George Macy Companies, Inc.: Limited Editions Club and The Heritage Press: A Preliminary Inventory of its Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center". norman.hrc.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  16. ^ a b "Heritage Press Exclusives". The George Macy Imagery. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2024-11-22.

Additional sources

  • Grossman, Carol P., Matthew Carter, Jerry Kelly, and PBtisk (Firm). 2017. The History of the Limited Editions Club. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press.
  • Limited Editions Club, and Denis Gouey. 1985. Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by the Limited Editions Club, 1929-1985. New York City: Limited Editions Club.
  • Rogers, Bruce, and Bruce Rogers. A Record of the Proceedings at the Limited Editions Club’s Dinner to Celebrate the Twenty-First Birthday of the Club & the Fiftieth Birthday of Its Founder : Together with a Reproduction of the Program and Menu, the Ritz-Carlton, New York, 11 May 1950. New York, NY: The Club], 1950.