Five
editions of Lakeside Classics - all new in publisher's shrink wrap:
"Twenty
Years Before the Mast", Charles Erskine 2006, here is the 104th
annual edition of the R.R. Donnelley Lakeside Press Classic. These handsome,
high quality, hard cover books are given out to Donnelley employees and their
associates only once each year at Christmas time. A different book has been
issued each year since 1903. This new 2006 volume is "Twenty Years Before
the Mast" by Charles Erskine. It recounts the travels of Admiral Charles
Wilkes between 1838 -1841.
“The Life
of Olaudah Equiano” 2004 New. In original shrink wrap.
A
remarkable account of early slavery and later freedom,The Life of Olaudah
Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, Written By Himself, is the 1789
autobiography of former slave Olaudah Equiano. This memoir is a slave
narrative, travel tale, and spiritual journey all-in-one. His life is a tale of
terror as well as an exciting adventure.
This fascinating account describes Equiano's abduction from Africa at the age
of ten and the years spent in labor on slave ships. It documents his attempts
at becoming an independent man through his study of the Bible, and his eventual
success in gaining his own freedom in 1766. What follows is success in
business, in literacy, and a move to becoming an influential African advocate
of abolishing the slave trade in Britain during the late 18th century. Equiano’s
degraded youth and respected later life in England is told with verve and
sophistication in this spirited quest for fulfillment.
A real masterpiece and a book of historical importance, the book was one of the
first widely read slave narratives and was a precursor to other such slave
narratives as that of Frederick Douglass. The work has proven so influential in
the study of African and African-American literature that it is frequently
taught in both English literature and history classrooms in universities.
“The
Rough Riders”, Theodore Roosevelt 2003 New. In original shrink wrap.
Navy
Secretary Roosevelt finally got his wish: a regiment of fine Ivy League
gentlemen and western frontier cowboys and sharp shooters to kick the Spaniards
out of Cuba. However, it is anything but a fun big game hunting expedition: The
US Armed Forces are marred by breathtaking disorganization, their logistics are
atrocious and the Spaniards are better armed than Roosevelt's regiment; they
are also better fed.
The Americans show great courage in battle, but casualties from combat, lack of
food and medical supplies are horrific. They would have been even worse had the
Gatling guns not made a key contribution ( Roosevelt's assessment). One wonders
what would have happened in WWI had the Cuban campaign not taken place before.
Through it all, Roosevelt is equal to his greater than life image, supremely
self confident, relishing the company of other risk takers, determined to test
his own courage.
“The
Americanization of Edward Bok” 2000 New. In original shrink wrap.
This
Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography charmingly chronicles the life of Edward
Bok, the longtime editor of The Ladies Home Journal and a noted philanthropist.
Bok wrote of his eventful life, "Every life has some interest and
significance; mine, perhaps, a special one. Here was a little Dutch boy
unceremoniously set down in America unable to make himself understood or even
to know what persons were saying; his education was extremely limited,
practically negligible; and yet, by curious decree of fate, he was destined to
write, for a period of years, to the largest body of readers ever addressed by
an American editor. . . ." Perhaps Bok's success was due to his
willingness to champion progressive causes to the wide readership of The Ladies
Home Journal. Bok advocated women's suffrage, saving the environment, public
sex education, education on prenatal care and children's health, and pacifism.
EDWARD BOK (1863-1930), American Pulitzer Prize-winning author, was born in Den
Helder, The Netherlands, and came to the United States in 1869. He edited The Ladies
Home Journal for 30 years. During that time, it became the first magazine to
reach one million subscribers. Bok also wrote books such as Successward and
America Give Me a Chance. He established a number of civic programs and awards,
including the American Peace Award, the Harvard Advertising Awards, and the
Philadelphia Commission.
“From the
Deep Woods to Civilization”, Eastman 2001 New. In original shrink wrap. W
shareholders Christmas Greeting
This
stimulating book is one of the few that really deserve the over-worked term, a
human document." — Publishers Weekly. In the first of his memoirs,
the popular Indian Boyhood, Charles Alexander Eastman recounted his traditional
upbringing among the Santee Sioux. From the Deep Woods to Civilization resumes
his story, recounting his abrupt departure from tribal life at age 15 to pursue
his education among whites — a path that led him to certification as a medical
doctor, the publication of many successful books, and a lifetime of tireless
efforts to benefit his native culture. Through his social work and his
writings, Eastman became one of the best-known Indians of the early twentieth
century and an important force in interpreting and relating the spiritual depth
and greatness of the Native American traditions.Eastman became a physician in
hopes of serving the Native American community; he received a Bachelor of
Science degree from Dartmouth in 1887 and a medical degree from Boston
University in 1890. He began college just a few months after the Battle of
Little Bighorn, and his first job as a physician at Pine Ridge Reservation
coincided with the Ghost Dance uprisings that culminated in the U. S. Army's
attack at Wounded Knee. The only doctor available to assist the massacre's
victims, Eastman writes movingly of the event's appalling inhumanity and
injustice. Afterward, he lobbied Capitol Hill on behalf of the Sioux and
devoted the rest of his life, both in and out of government service, to helping
Indians adapt to the white world while retaining the best of their own culture.
His autobiography resonates with the impassioned thoughts and experiences of a
profound contributor to the richness of American culture.
All
Lakeside Classics have the same, elegant format: gilt top pages, spine and
Lakeside’s logo on cloth covers. Beautifully designed text.
The
Lakeside Press Classics series was started in 1903 by Thomas E. Donnelley, then
president of RR Donnelley & Sons Company and son of the founder. Thomas E.
Donnelley believed that a simple book, dignified and well designed, would be an
appropriate holiday gift. The collection of Lakeside Classics is the longest,
continuously running series of Americana. Every year since 1903 their
publisher, The Lakeside Press an imprint of R. R. Donnelley & Son, has
produced these carefully bound books as Christmas gifts to their employees,
stockholders, vendors and business associates. The books in the series have
never been sold by R. R. Donnelley, so their sale only occurs when the books
have entered the secondary market.
Every
twenty-five years the color of the binding has changed. From 1903 to
1927 the publisher used a dark green cloth to cover the boards (now often
referred to as the "greenies".) From 1928 to 1952 there was a
red cloth covering; from 1953 to 1977 a dark blue cloth was employed; from 1978
to 2002 a dark brown cloth was employed. In December of 2003 the publishers
again changed the cloth binding to a blue turquoise color to mark the 101st
year of Lakeside Classics. All have gilt text stamping on the spine and
the front boards have always shown the then current seal for the Lakeside
Press.
Reliable sources have informed us that The Lakeside Press produced
approximately 1,000 copies of the 1903 edition. However, for the years
1904 through 1910 the number of printings was reduced to approximately 600
copies for each year. Reprints of only the first five books in the series
were produced for sale under the Reilly & Britton Company imprint.
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