Style 1
Material: flexible leatherette
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text
Front: "BL" in gothic text
In Use: 1917-1919
Style 2
Material: flexible leatherette
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text; double bars at spine top and bottom
Front: "BL" in gothic text
In Use: 1919-1923
Style 3
Material: flexible leatherette (but a few hardbound examples exist)
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text; double bars at spine top and bottom
Front: image of scribe monk at desk
In Use: 1923-1925
Style 4
Material: flexible leatherette (but late 1928/early 1929 issues exist in hard balloon cloth transitional bindings)
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text; double bars at spine top and bottom
Front: Bernhart torchbearer image
In Use: 1925-1929
Style 5
Material: stiffer balloon cloth
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text; grape vine image at spine bottom
Front: Kent torchbearer image
In Use: early 1929-mid 1930
Material: stiffer balloon cloth
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text; "MODERN LIBRARY" at base
Front: Kent torchbearer image
In Use: 1930
Style 7
Material: stiffer balloon cloth
Width: 4 1/4 inches
Height: 6 5/8 inches
Spine: gold text; overprint ML image and "MODERN LIBRARY" at base
Front: Kent torchbearer image
In Use: 1931-1939
Style 8
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard (Blumenthal design)
Width: 4 7/8 inches
Height: 7 1/4 inches
Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by label in contrasting color to boards with gold lettering
Front: Kent torchbearer image within gold outline; above image is smaller enclosed square label in contrasting color to boards wih gold lettering
In Use: 1939-1963
Style 9
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard
Width: 4 7/8 inches
Height: 7 1/4 inches
Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by gold lettering enclosed within gold rectangle
Front: blindstamped right-facing Kent torchbearer image enscribed within oval
In Use: early 1963 (very shortlived)
Style 10
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard
Width: 4 7/8 inches
Height: 7 1/4 inches
Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by gold lettering enclosed within gold rectangle
Front: blindstamped right-facing Kent torchbearer image enscribed within hexagram followed by blindstamped "MODERN LIBRARY"
In Use: later 1963 (very shortlived)
Style 11
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard
Width: 4 7/8 inches
Height: 7 1/4 inches
Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY" all in gold
Front: blindstamped right-facing Kent torchbearer image enscribed within hexagram followed by blindstamped "MODERN LIBRARY"
In Use: 1963-1967
Style 12
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard
Width: 4 7/8 inches
Height: 7 1/4 inches
Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY" all in silver
Front: blindstamped lowecase "ml" enscribed within large blindstamped single line design
In Use: 1967 (very shortlived)
Style 13
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard
Width: 4 7/8 inches
Height: 7 1/4 inches
Spine: Fujita torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY" all in silver
Front: blindstamped lowecase "ml" enscribed within large blindstamped single line design
In Use: 1967-1968
Style 14
Material: linen cloth over stiff cardboard
Width: 4 5/8 inches
Height: 7 11/16 inches
(NOTE: dimensions are the only distinguishing characteristics from Style 13)
Spine: Fujita torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY" all in silver
Front: blindstamped lowecase "ml" enscribed within large blindstamped single line design
In Use: 1969-1974