Lakeside Press

Lakeside Press
Lakeside Press was a historic Chicago-based publishing imprint and fine printing operation associated with R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (often called RR Donnelley or RRD), one of the largest printing companies in the world during much of the 20th century.

Founded in 1864 by Richard Robert Donnelley in Chicago, the company initially operated as a small printing business. It was reorganized in 1870 as the Lakeside Printing and Publishing Company, but the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed the operation. Donnelley rebuilt using his reputation, leading to expansions and the establishment of the “Lakeside Press” as a prestigious imprint.

The Press became renowned for high-quality book production, including:
Fine editions for organizations like the Caxton Club.
Major commercial work (e.g., Sears catalogs, telephone directories, encyclopedias).
The famous Lakeside Classics series — a tradition started in 1903 by Thomas E. Donnelley (the founder’s son and then-president). These were specially bound reprints of historical American narratives (often first-person accounts), produced annually as Christmas gifts for employees, customers, and friends. The series ran continuously for over a century (1903–2010s in various forms), with bindings changing colors every 25 years (e.g., dark green/black early on, then red, blue, brown, etc.). They are highly collectible today among book enthusiasts and Americana collectors.

The main facility was housed in iconic Chicago buildings, including the Lakeside Press Building on Plymouth Court (still standing and adaptively reused) and later the massive Calumet Plant.

The dedicated Lakeside Press printing operations wound down in the early 1990s, with the Calumet plant closing in 1993 amid industry changes. Production shifted elsewhere within RRD.

The best places to find Lakeside Press books online are:
eBay Books

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Lakeside Press History Lot of 3 Red Hardcover Titles

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Lot of 12 Assorted The Lakeside Press Hardcover Books

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The Lakeside Press Lot Of 5 1980s

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Vintage 25 Vols Lakeside Press Classics Brown Series 1978 to 2002 [ 22 sealed]

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Lot of 9 - The Lakeside Press - R.R. Donnelley & Sons (1986-1994)

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THE LAKESIDE PRESS Classic Book Series Lot of 17 (1980, '83, '85 - 99, HC) LN

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Lot Of 6 Lakeside Press 4 Blue 2 Brown Colonial America Honolulu Klondike

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The Lakeside Press Leather Bound Books – Sealed – Lot of 5 – R.R. Donnelley

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The Border and the Buffalo 1938 Lakeside Press

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1972 Lakeside Press PIONEERS Narratives of early Midwestern settlers 1825-1865

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The Lakeside Press - R.R. Donnelley Employee's Magazine COMPLETE 1938 Bound

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Lot of 5 Assorted The lakeside Press 1985 Hardcover Books

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THE LAKESIDE PRESS LOT OF 4 Uncle Dick , Mexican Days, Voyage NW coast, My Life

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Lakeside Press- lot of 6 brown cover (4 sealed) hard cover books RR Donnelley

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Travels Hardcover Bartram The Lakeside Press R R Donnelley & Sons Sealed

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1970 & 1972 Lakeside Press Books

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The Lakeside Press R.R. Donnelley & Sons Sealed Book

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Lot of 6 Book Set of The Lakeside Press R.R. Donnelley & Sons Black Hardcover

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1942 Lakeside Press Classics Early Days of Rock Island and Davenport

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1933 Lakeside Press Classics Forty Years a Fur Trader

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Buckskin And Blanket Days Thomas Henry Tibble Lakeside Press 1985 HC Old West

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Lot of 9 Sealed Brown Assorted The lakeside Press Hardcover Books

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COMPLETE GREEN SERIES, 17 LAKESIDE PRESS BOOKS..R.R, DONNELLEY

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LOT OF 6 BLUE SERIES, LAKESIDE PRESS BOOKS..R.R, DONNELLEY...FREE SHIP

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Lot of 16 Book Set of The Lakeside Press R.R. Donnelley & Sons Sealed New

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THE LAKESIDE PRESS HC SET OF 6 HC COLLECTIBLE BOOKS C1

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Lakeside Press Books Set of 4 New Sealed Inaugural Address Jailed Freedom Corona

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Lot of 9 Book Set - The Lakeside Press RR Donnelley & Sons Sealed New 2008-2016

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Lakeside Press History Series Lot Of 6 HC All New Sealed Gold Gilt BBM

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1923 - Alexander Ross Adventures on the Oregon, Lakeside Press

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Lakeside Classics Hardcover Lot (2) – R.R. Donnelley Green Cloth Vintage History

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Two Views of Gettysburg [the Lakeside Classics]

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2002 Lakeside Press NARRATIVE OF THE CORONADO EXPEDITION English & Spanish {b}

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LOT (4) THE LAKESIDE PRESS CLASSICS GREEN SERIES NEW "INAUGURAL ADDRESSES" +3

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Pictures of Gold Rush California, 1949 The Lakeside Press Book

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The Lakeside Press Classics Book Lot of 10 R.R. Donnelley SEALED Green Hardcover

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The Lakeside Press Lot of 5 Hardcover Books - R.R. Donnelley - Sealed Green

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The Lakeside Press - R.R. Donnelley Employee's Magazine COMPLETE 1934 Bound

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Lakeside Press Classics Lot 6 Hardcover Books Sealed Rough Riders Equiano Bok

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The Lakeside Press - You Choose Any Four (4) Books

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1993 Lakeside Press Classics pub. R.R. Donnelly & Sons NIP & LIke New 6 books

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The Lakeside Press Hard Back Books, Lot Of 4 One Sealed, Gold Gilt

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Lot of 22 The Lakeside Press Hardcover Books R.R. Donnelley & Sons - Some Sealed

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Two Views of Gettysburg Fremantle & Haskell 1966 Lakeside Press w/Box & Glassine

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1929 Lakeside Press Classics- R.R. Donnelley Kendall's Texas Santa Fe Expedition

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From the Deep Woods to Civilization by Eastman R.R. Donnelley Lakeside Press

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Lakeside Press Five Hardbacks R.R. Donnelley & Sons

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2006 Lakeside Press TWENTY YEARS BEFORE THE MAST memoir of 1830s US Navy sailor

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1937 Lakeside Press Classics The Bark Covered House

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The Lakeside Press 5 Book Lot, Green Hardcover, New & Sealed Various Titles

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