Well! I have an authoritative answer (I hope)!
Here's part of the actual signed contract with Larry Elmore. As you can see in section 4, we only had reproduction rights for five years. This was standard for all our Limited Edition prints. I believe the reason for this was because it gave the artist a chance to make more money off of the artwork later and helped reduce our costs. Price was a major consideration for why we did these prints in the first place as most people could not afford a private commission.
As to the artwork appearing in his book, I'm personally thrilled. It's not the whole piece, just a tease. It likely makes them more valuable to collectors interested in his art. It also helps to authenticate our limited edition prints as genuine. Thanks for pointing this out!
Truth is worth finding and life is too short to work for money.