Does anyone collect Modern Library editions?

I just stumbled on a large collection that is up for sale and am wondering if I should do it. I've generally thought of them as very well-made books, but with no illustrations and a pretty boring design. But a I missing something in terms of first editions or comprehensive versions of texts? PS: While researching ML, I discovered that after Bennett Cerf and a partner bought the ML in the early 1920s, they also published a few random books, which lead them to launch Random house. I'd always wondered how they got that name.

I’m pretty sure the bindings are glued, though not an expert...

There’s an LT group devoted to the Modern Library here. https://www.librarything.com/groups/modernlibrarycollec

Thanks. They're not a very active group. I passed on the collection. I'm just not personally interested enough and it would have been a headache to move, store, sell.

I used to collect these. I found them to be charming editions. I only collected them with the dust jackets, which are attractive. I do not recall the bindings, but I do recall that they held up very, very well. The pages did not fall out, nor bindings crack or split. I found them to frequently hold up better than many other books of the same age, even other books of high quality.

I did give up my collection some years ago, as I had a retina detachment, and some other sight issues. I decided to focus on larger books after that. I do not recall, if the actual font size on the modern library was really smaller than LEC editions, but I did choose to let mine go.

One could creat a very nice library of world literature with the modern library editions of last century, and store them in a smaller space.

The Modern Library has been through several different manifestations over the years: in their first incarnation they were part of the Boni and Liveright publishing firm, and published many new and important authors: Pound, Eliot, Faulkner and Eugene O'Neill. The books from this period I have seen were well-printed, on somewhat cheap paper, and most had limp bindings. When this initial Modern Library went bankrupt and was sold to Bennet Cerf in the 1920s, the publishing schedule more often went to classics rather contemporary authors, and some classics were published with illustrations: a Moby-Dick illustrated by Rockwell Kent, a Crime and Punishment with illustrations by Philip Reiser and a Divine Comedy with illustrations by George Grosz, which I have looked for but never found. The books I have owned from the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s had good, albeit smallish typography, somewhat thin and cheap paper (indicating a portion of wood-pulp derived paper), and sewn bindings which ended to have flexible boards on the thinner volumes.

The first new Modern Library books I purchased were printed in the 1950s and 1960s. This was a bad period for the firm: the typography was poor--almost certainly offset, the paper was probably alpha-cellulose (mostly wood pulp but treated so it had better longevity than most paperbacks I bought then, such as Mentor, which are literally crumbling away), and the once excellent design sense had fallen on hard times. The bindings were still sewn, but special endpapers, stained page edges, and decorative headbands had been axed by the accountants. The typography improved in the 1970s and 1980s and there were versions of classics bound very sturdily in what was called "Library Buckram."

In the 1990s, the marque improved in many respects: binding were good, paper, though stilll alpha-cellulose, met archival standards, the design was improved with endpapers featuring the original torchbearer trademark, headbands, and attractive sewn bindings. Alas, the typography in the volumes I own lack any elegance and grace. There are no broken or smeared letters, but it lacks crispness, the leading is very tight, and the overall effect I can only describe as "horsey."

Still, as is the case with Everyman's Library, there are some important works which can only be found in these editions, so although I have far fewer Modern Library books than I once had, I still keep some on my shelves.

> 6 would you happen to know if the current volumes (say 1990s and on) have sewn bindings?

I DO have their Moby Dick and the Kent illustrations are nice. I was very tempted by this bunch cuz most looked to be from the 1930s-1940s and I found a box with at least some of the missing dust-jackets in the basement. But there were at least 200 of them and my bookshelves are already overflowing.

>6 Django6924:

Thanks for the information. Your description of the 1920s - 1950s were the ones I collected. Thanks for the confirmation on the sewn pages, I just wasn't sure about it. But I did observe that however they were made, they were sturdy and have held up for 60 and more years now. The paper itself, while thin, has not torn over the years, so if handled carefully, I expect they would continue to hold up.

I don't know anything about the newer (1960+ books). In any case, I would urge folks considering these to find a few samples from this time period at a used book store and judge for themselves if they like the productions. While I believe that good Heritage Press publications give the most bang for one's collecting buck, there are so many wonderful authors and titles not printed by HP. ML could serve as another affordable path to a great library.

>7 RRCBS:

Here are the endpapers of the 1990s books with sewn bindings:

Just in case anyone else is thinking of collecting the Modern Library series, there's a very informative site put together by collectors: http://modernlib.com

I have a few. As soon as I finish my Lakeside Press collection I was thinking of turning to Modern Library.