Book Collecting

Heritage Press

An imprint of George Macy Companies, Ltd., Heritage Press was founded in 1935. The Press printed more affordable classic volumes that were previously published by Macy’s Limited Editions Club and covered a broad range of topics primarily within the Western canon. In addition to Macy, directors of the Heritage Press included Cedric Crowell, General Manager of the Doubleday Bookshops; Frank L. Magel, head of Putnam Bookstores in New York; and A. Koch, head of Brentano Stores in New York.

Though many of Macy’s other imprints, including The Heritage Club, The Heritage Illustrated Bookshelf, and The Junior Heritage Club, were sold by subscription only, Heritage Press editions were sold through bookstores. Macy combined his publishing enterprises in 1944, though each imprint maintained its specific target audience. The archives of the George Macy Companies, including both the Limited Editions Club and The Heritage Press, were purchased by the Ransom Center in 1970.

First Edition Identification

Heritage Press editions are considered reprints or reissues of Limited Editions Club books. However, each edition from the Press originally came with its own Sandglass — a four-page pamphlet discussing the illustrator and the importance of the book. Because Heritage is no longer printing and the only source of the books is the secondary market, not many books available still have their Sandglass. Similarly, each title also came in a slipcase.