In addition to ModernLib (this Web site), Ron Holl's Modern Library Amenities, the e-Mail discussion group, the fanzine, and The Guide, Modern Library collectors may find the following sources of information useful:
- eBay: Some sellers provide great descriptions and photos. Even if you can't afford that particular early Modern Library in dust jacket, you at least know what it looks like, and might get a bit of history regarding the book and its author. The photos are generally larger and of a higher resolution than those in the ModernLib dust jacket database. Additionally, some seller descriptions even include a brief review of the book itself - useful if you actually read your books.
- "The World’s Best Books": Taste, Culture, and the Modern Library: Jay Satterfield's 1992 piece deals with the socio-historic side of the Modern Library series. From the blurb at the publisher's promo page: "Focusing on the Modern Library's marketing strategies, editorial decisions, and close attention to book design, Jay Satterfield explores the interwar cultural dynamics that allowed the publisher of the series to exploit the forces of mass production and treat books as commodities while still positioning the series as a revered cultural entity. So successful was this approach that the modern publishing colossus Random House was built on the reputation, methods, and profits of the Modern Library." The book has a small print run of 973 copies; get one while you can. Lists at $29.95
- Scribners Present the Modern Library in First Editions: In 1938, the Rare Books division of Scribners produced a catalogue (issued with no dust jacket) of Modern Library source books. Sold through its rare book outlet on New York's 5th Avenue, the catalogue featured available first editions whose text was the source of the current Modern Library list. The individual entries contain some pretty interesting information about the sources. A search at bookfinder.com on 1 Nov 2003 found a number of copies for around $30. For more info and photos, see the ModernLib article.
- A Descriptive Bibliography of The Modern Library :1917-1970: Written by George Andes in 1989, this was the first large compilation of ML information (albeit largely incomplete with lots of errors). While much of this pioneering research was later corrected and updated by Henry Toledano in The Guide, Andes' bibliographic information remains unique in the published annals of Modern Library resource material. Although devoid of information about dust jackets and with precious little about bindings, its illustrations continue to provide valuable reference material. Its print run was limited to 500 copies. You can still find this in a near fine dust jacket for around $125. The collection of books that Andes used to compile his piece is for sale at an absurdly high price, and is described on the Web at The Boston Book Annex Web site.
- The Modern Library Series: Format and Design, 1917-1977: This article by Gordon Neavill (appearing in Printing History, vol. 1, no. 1, 1979) identifies and dates "the styles and formats in which Modern Library books have appeared and to note some of the designers responsible for them...." There's lots of great information and pictures here from the Modern Library's arguably premier scholar. You can order reprints from the American Printing History Association for $25. I recommend it strongly.
- The Modern Library Series: Here is Gordon Neavill's 1984 Ph.D. dissertation submitted to the University of Chicago's Graduate Library School in which he "seeks to explain the Modern Library's success and eventual decline at three levels: the social and intellectual context in which the Modern Library existed, the prevailing institutional patterns of the book industry and the economics of the book trade over the course of the Modern Library's existence, and the internal history of the series itself." Not the multi-thousand page bibliography that he's been working on, but still 573 pages (unbound 8.5" X 11" pages) of great stuff for the Modern Library fanatic. You can order it online with a credit card for $34 (Priority Mail included) from University Microfilm.
- The Random House Modern Library New Books site: Announcements, synopses, and reading guides for books in the currently available series. The publisher's site. Nothing for the Sewn Bindings collector (snort), but they have an interesting brief history page with a few amusing links.
- Glossary of Book Collecting Terms: Not specific to the Modern Library but an excellent resource nonetheless is the excellent illustrated glossary of book collecting terms at the Website for My Wings Books.
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