What's the importance of front-of-book catalogs?

Boni-Liveright printed a list of currently-active titles in the front of Modern Library books published from Spring 1917 through Fall of 1918. Five different catalogs were printed in all. You use these catalogs to verify that a particular book is a first printing.

For a list of the catalogs with illustrations, see Boni-Liveright 1917-1918 Front Catalogs.

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