A collection of several hundred selections from The Modern Library of the World's Best Books, a long-running series of classic literary works which underwent numerous design changes (and continues to do so). An interesting entry-level area for book collectors due to the wide availability and affordable prices of many volumes, but also rewarding for mid- to high-level collectors due to the minutiae involved in identifying the numerous printings of each title. The authoritative bibliography by Henry Toledano provides great guidance, but scholarship on this series continues to evolve.
New York: The Modern Library, 1954. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-56 printing, Toledano 145.1, binding/jacket style 8i with 374 titles on verso, $1.45 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Jacket very lightly rubbed.
xii, 299 pp. Introduction by Herbert Gorman. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1952. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-59 printing, Toledano 283.1, binding/jacket style 8i with 403 titles on verso, $1.95 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Ink underlining throughout text, jacket edges rubbed.
xxii, 328 pp. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. Introduction by Philip Rahv. Gathers fifteen.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1956. Salter, George. Reissue. Hard Cover.
1961-1968 printing (Toledano 318.1). Includes original jacket in the first of two different design styles, with unnumbered list of titles printed on reverse. Top edge lightly foxed, jacket a bit rubbed.
340, [4] pp. Translated from the German by.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1952. Reissue. Hard Cover.
1963 printing, Toledano 283.1, 10i, $1.95 jacket price, unnumbered list on jacket reverse. Jacket edges rubbed. A few pages creased.
xxii, 328 pp. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. Introduction by Philip Rahv. Gathers fifteen of Kafka's stories, including The Metamorphosis;.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1932. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1945-63 printing, Toledano G004.1, binding style G5, blank endpapers. Lacks jacket. Minor ink marginalia, ink name on front endpaper, front hinge just beginning to weaken.
viii, 914 pp. With explanatory notes of Shelley's poems by Mrs. Shelley. The Modern Library version.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1946. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1969-70 printing, Toledano 303.1, binding/jacket style 14o with blank verso, $2.95 jacket price, white endpapers. Good in very good jacket. 1/2 inch closed tear with clear tape repair on jacket spine head, ink underlining throughout text, ink name on front endpaper.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1929. First Thus. Full-Leather.
1929 first thus, Toledano 158.1, binding style 5, maroon Rockwell Kent endpapers. Lacks jacket. Boards soiled, spine and edges faded, front hinge weakening.
xviii, 285 pp. Plays include: Agememnon; Oedipus the King; Medea; The Frogs.
New York: The Modern Library, 1950. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-59 printing, Toledano 068.3, binding/jacket style 8i with 385 titles on verso, $1.65 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Two minor smudges on rear board, jacket lightly rubbed and toned.
x, 548 pp. 8vo. Includes a foreword by the author. Originally.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1957. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1957 first thus. Toledano 221.1, binding/jacket style 8i with 379 titles on verso, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Light 1/2 stain on top edge, ink name on front endpaper, jacket price clipped.
390 pp. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: "Harry Sinclair Lewis (February.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1947. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-59 printing, Toledano 252.1, binding/jacket style 8i with 385 titles on verso, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Jacket price clipped.
vii, 377, [7] pp. 8vo. Foreword by Clifton Fadiman. "Dodsworth tells the story of a young American couple who moves to Europe.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1933. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1933 first thus, Toledano 042.2 (includes introduction), binding style 7, orange Rockwell Kent endpapers. Lacks jacket. Spine and edges toned, edges rubbed, front hinge just beginning to weaken, bookplate and light ink stamp on front endpapers.
x, 448 pp. Introduction.....
New York: The Illustrated Modern Library / Random House, Inc., 1944. Lewis, Allen. Hard Cover.
Variant of Toledano 56.2. Includes publisher's slipcase, lacks acetate jacket. 1 inch chip from top edge of slipcase opening, slipcase edges rubbed, spine discolored, owner bookplate on front endpaper.
xi, [1], 732, [1] pp. Decorative.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1957. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1957 first thus, Toledano 133.2, binding/jacket style 8i with 379 titles on verso, $1.65 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Top edge slightly discolored, minor loss from jacket spine head and foot.
xi, 424 pp. Edited by Roger Sherman Loomis.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1957. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1957-63 printing, Toledano 133.2, binding style 8, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Lacks jacket. Ink name and date on front endpaper verso.
xi, 424 pp. Edited by Roger Sherman Loomis and Laura Hibbard Loomis. The enduring and enchanting stories of Tristan and.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1944. Reissue. Hard Cover.
1944-53 printing, Toledano 033.3 (no introduction), binding/jacket style 8h, 360 titles on verso, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Jacket rubbed, jacket price clipped.
vi, 360 pp. 8vo. Grey cloth, gilt titles, Translated from the French by Haakon M. Chevalier. From the jacket.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1965. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1965 first thus, Toledano 360.1, binding/jacket style 11l with blank verso, $2.45 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Near fine in good jacket. Jacket edges rubbed.
378 pp. Translated from the German by Denver Lindley. Recounts the enchanted career of.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1966. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1966 first thus, Toledano 365.1, binding/jacket style 11l, blank verso, $2.45 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Jacket edges lightly rubbed, jacket lightly toned.
vi, 510, [10] pp. Translated by H.T. Lowe-Porter. "A modern reworking of the Faust legend, in.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1936. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1936 first thus, Toledano G084.1, binding style G5, blank endpapers. Lacks jacket. Minor loss from spine head, rear hinge just beginning to loosen.
ix, 567 pp. Translated from the German by H. T. Lowe-Porter. The scheme is simple - here.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1940. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1940 first thus in married jacket, Toledano 182.2, binding/jacket style 8i with 377 titles on verso, orange Rockwell Kent endpapers. Cover spine faded, ink name on front endpaper, jacket price clipped. The jacket style included here was in use from.....
New York: The Modern Library, 2008. 4th Printing. Hard Cover.
2008 4th printing, no Toledano number, $40.00 jacket price, brown decorative endpapers with an updated rendering of Modern Library's iconic torchbearer. Spine lightly toned.
xvi, 892 pp. A new rendering of the Watson legend. Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man's River.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1919. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-9 printing, Toledano 027.2, binding/jacket style 8i, 405 titles on verso, $1.95 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. The second of two very similar Newman jacket designs. 1/2 inch closed jacket tear.
341 pp., 6-page terminal publisher ad. Loosely based on.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1954. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-59 printing, Toledano 176.1, binding/jacket style 8i with 380 titles on verso, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Jacket lightly rubbed with tiny chip from front edge, jacket price clipped.
760 pp. Originally published in 1915, Of Human Bondage is a potent expression.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1957. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1954-59 printing, Toledano 014.1, binding/jacket style 8i with 388 titles on verso, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. A few light smudges on boards, front hinge just beginning to weaken, jacket price clipped.
xi, 489 pp. Selected and with an introduction by John.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1965. First Thus. Hard Cover.
1965 first thus, Toledano 355.1, binding/jacket style 11k with blank verso, $2.45 jacket price, grey Rockwell Kent endpapers. Near fine in very good jacket. Ink name on front endpaper and title page, 1/4 inch closed tear on rear jacket edge
.....
New York: The Modern Library, 1993. Reprint. Hard Cover.
1993 10th printing, no Toledano number, $14.95 jacket price, brown decorative endpapers with an updated rendering of Modern Library's iconic torchbearer. Board edges a bit faded.
ix, 430 pp. When she was only twenty-three, Carson McCullers's first novel created a literary.....