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Ready for the story of how Trump's Department of Justice killed a 117-year-old literary Christmas tradition?
In 1903, T.E. Donnelly — the publisher of Chicago's Lakeside Press — wanted to give the company's employees and clients a Christmas present that would represent the press's dedication to printing beautiful books.
So Donnelley printed a special edition of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in a small, "pocket-sized" format. This would be the first "Lakeside Classic," an annual Christmas tradition that continued for more than a century.
Lakeside Classics were never sold to the public, only mailed as personal gifts the week before Christmas. Since they were printed in relatively small runs, they've become sought-after collector's items, fetching up to $1,500 a piece on eBay.
As you can see, they're beautiful! The binding color changed every 25 years, and the Lakeside crest on the cover was updated over time. Here's the oldest edition I own, 1915's Reminiscences of Chicago During the Great Fire.
Lakeside Press was an imprint of RR Donnelley & Sons, which grew into one of the largest commercial printers in the world. It was also the official printer of the 1933 Century of Progress world's fair. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RR_Donnelley
But in 2016, RR Donnelley split into 3 different companies. The printing business, now LSC Communications (named after Lakeside Classics) continued the Christmas tradition. You can see the name change on the cover crest below (2018 edition + box!). https://www.piworld.com/article/rr-donnelley-split-occurs-three-companies-now-better-off-one/
In 2019, LSC announced a merger with Wisconsin-based Quad/Graphics, but Trump's DOJ filed an antritrust lawsuit to stop the merger, a development industry insiders called "shocking" considering the industry was struggling due to lost ad/order revenue. https://www.piworld.com/article/shocker-doj-files-suit-to-block-quad-from-acquiring-lsc-communications/
(Apparently the DOJ was close to approving, but then Quad's lawyers pushed back on some divestitures. FWIW, the DOJ official who oversaw the lawsuit is the same guy who wrote this pro-Trump dreck back when most Republicans still publicly hated him.) https://nypost.com/2016/03/09/to-save-the-supreme-court-vote-trump-over-clinton/
Anyway, the merger was called off, and LSC Communications decided to end the Lakeside Classics tradition with that year's edition (2019). They then filed for bankruptcy in April 2020. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-lsc-communications-bankruptcy-quad-graphics-20200413-fyo6jvuaivffddgsig5ctfvkca-story.html
A few weeks ago, a private equity firm acquired LSC, which will bring it out of Chapter 11 and hopefully save jobs. No word yet on whether they'll bring back Lakeside Classics, but this Christmas is the first since 1903 without one 
. https://www.piworld.com/article/printer-lsc-communications-acquired-private-equity-firm-atlas-holdings/
. https://www.piworld.com/article/printer-lsc-communications-acquired-private-equity-firm-atlas-holdings/
If you want to learn more about Lakeside Press, this @UChicagoLibrary archive is a treasure trove. The press's building in Printer's Row (and its plant across from McCormick Place) are two of my favorite buildings in Chicago. https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/expma/
Because they're so small, they make great mantlepieces!
