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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The Lakeside Press August 1932 Rare Publication Antique Vintage Acceptable

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The Lakeside Press 20th Century Classics R.R Donnelley & Sons Burgundy Hardcover

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Lakeside Press Classics: Twenty Years Before The Mast

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The Lakeside Press Hardback Book LOT OF 4 NEW Factory Sealed Hardcover Books

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Lakeside Press: Lot Of 4 / BFB

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Lot 11 Lakeside Press Books Casteneda Hart Sewell Marshall Tibbles Bryant Etc

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LOT of 23 Lakeside Press Books Green & Black Very Good to New

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The Lakeside Press 6 Book Lot, Green Hardcover, Sealed, Various Titles

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LOT OF 16 BROWN SERIES, LAKESIDE PRESS BOOKS...R.R, DONNELLEY...FREE SHIP

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The Lakeside Press Complete 25 Year Set 1978-2002

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Lot of 5 Assorted The lakeside Press 1985 Hardcover Books

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6 LAKESIDE PRESS BOOKS BROWN COVERS SEALED

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The Lakeside Press Classics R.R. Donnelley & Sons Brown Hardcover NEW

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Lakeside Classics 1953-1985 Complete Blue Series 33 Vol R.R. Donnelley Set

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The Lakeside Press HC 3-Book Lot: Home of the Crows; Growing Up...

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Reminiscences of Chicago During the Forties and Fifties First Lakeside Classic

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New Lakeside Press Hard Cover Book The Life Of Olaudah Equiano - Sealed

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BRAND NEW SEALED LOT of 3 - Lakeside Press HC Book - Bird, Gibbons, Bisland

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The Lakeside Press Lot of 4 books Aesthetic

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Lot 8 Lakeside Press Classics Books Collectible Hardcover Assorted Titles 80-90s

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Lot of 15 The Lakeside Press HC Books R.R. Donnelley & Sons - Some Sealed

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Lakeside Press Five Hardbacks R.R. Donnelley & Sons

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N by E Rockwell Kent 1939 Lakeside Press Illustrated Hardcover Arctic Voyage

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The Lakeside Press Book Lot Of 14 All Sealed New Classics Hardcover

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6 Lakeside Press / R. R. Donnelley Brown Books 1978-1985

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Lot of 3 Assorted The lakeside Press 1985 Hardcover: Bryant, Bok & Hart

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R. R. Donnelley & Sons Lakeside Press 1864-1989 125 Years

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Narrative of the Narvaez Expedition Lakeside Press Cabeza de Vaca Sealed

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Selection of 8 Titles from R. R. Donnelley / Lakeside Press Books - 1990’s

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

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3 Lakeside Classics 1982 1984 1985 Helldorado Frontier Fighter Buckskin Western

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Lakeside Press Classics 6 Book Lot 4 Factory Sealed Donnelley Hardcover

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The Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt, 2003, Lakeside Press HC Book

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Nurse and Spy in the Union Army Edmonds The Lakeside Press 2019 Hardcover

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The Lakeside Press Hardback Book LOT OF 3 NEW Factory Sealed Hardcover Books

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NEW Lot of 12 Books The Lakeside Press Classics R.R. Donnelley & Sons Sealed New

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LAKESIDE PRESS BOOK TRAVELS By WILLIAM BARTRAM MINT SEALED CONDITION

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Lakeside Press, Children of Ol' Man River

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The Lakeside Press Book Lot Of 10 RR Donnelley

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2010 Lakeside Classics Travels South Carolina Georgia Florida William Bartram

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Lot of 7 Lakeside Press Books Hill- Randolph- Horn- Kelly-Marshall-Buffum

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The Lakeside Press Classics - Seven Volume Set - Donnelley & Sons - 1991

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Lakeside Classics - Hardcover LOT of 7 – R.R. Donnelley / Lakeside Press Mixed

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Lot Of 17 The Lakeside Press Hardcover Books R.R. Donnelley 12 Sealed US History

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1928 A Rod for the Back of the Binder Lakeside Press R.R. Donnelley HC Book

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The Lakeside Press 20th Century Classics R.R Donnelley & Sons Blue Hardcover

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1930 Prospectus “Lakeside Press Illustrated Editions” Moby Dick Rockwell Kent ++

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Lakeside Press: Lot Of 4 / BFB

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125 Years The Lakeside Press 1864-1989 Book R.R Donnelley & Sons

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The Race Around The World Hardcover Bly Bisland Lakeside Press Sealed

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