MODERN LIBRARY DATING KEY, 1925-1970

Gordon B. Neavill

Associate Professor

Library and Information Science Program

Wayne State University

106 Kresge Library

Detroit, MI 48202

aa3401@wayne.edu

Copyright © 1992-2005 by Gordon B. Neavill. All rights reserved.

Updated 2024 by Ronald Holl.

Permission is granted to individual collectors to reproduce single copies of the dating key for personal use only, as long as the copyright statement is included. The Modern Library Dating Key may not be reproduced for any other purpose, commercial or noncommercial, in any format (print, electronic, etc., including posting on web sites other than ModernLib), without written permission of the copyright holder. Linking from other web sites to the dating key on ModernLib is permissible.

This dating key can be used to date Modern Library books and jackets on the basis of ML lists that appear at the end of the volumes and inside the jackets. A list that contains the title in the first column but lacks the title in the second column belongs to the date given at the left. Lists were updated each publishing season (spring and fall). From fall 1933 through spring 1963 the inside of the jackets included a heading, “WHICH OF THESE [225] OUTSTANDING TITLES DO YOU WANT TO READ?” This number is indicated before the titles for these years. Lists of titles ceased to be printed inside the jackets beginning in 1964.

Dating ML books can be tricky. Please note the following:

· “First” statements on the verso of the title page were usually—but not always—removed from the plates after the first printing. A ML list in the book or inside the jacket may be the only way to distinguish a first printing from a later printing.

· The list on the jacket dates the jacket, not necessarily the book inside the jacket. Collectors and booksellers occasionally “marry” books and jackets that didn’t start out together. If the lists in the book and the jacket are the same, the jacket is probably original to the book. If the book doesn’t have a list all you can do is make sure that the date of the jacket is consistent with the format and design of the book (binding style, endpapers, etc.).

· Beware of dating ML jackets solely on the basis of the number of titles in the heading inside the jacket or on the back panel. Dating must always be confirmed on the basis of titles included/not included in the list. Titles date a list by spring or fall of a given year. The following numbers remain unchanged through more than one season: 225 (fall 1933-fall 1934), 271 (spring 1940; spring 1941), 334 (spring-fall 1948), 379 (spring-fall 1957), 388 (fall 1959-spring 1960), 415 (fall 1962-spring 1963).

Back panels of ML jackets indicate the number of titles in the series beginning in fall 1928. These numbers are generally less reliable than numbers in the heading inside the jacket, especially before the mid-1930s. Since conclusive dating must be based on the list of titles, it’s best to ignore back panel numbers altogether.

· ML titles published in January were printed before new spring lists were available and usually use lists from the previous fall, both at the end of the volume and inside the jacket.

· There are surprisingly few mistakes in lists of titles, but there were a few muddles. Lists in titles published in 1942 are confused. Jackets of several regular ML titles printed in spring 1942 have fall 1941 list (the lists of titles at the end of the volumes are correct). New titles published in fall 1942 have correct lists at the end of the volumes (if they have lists at all) but spring 1942 lists on the jackets. Jackets of most regular ML titles reprinted in fall 1942 have correct fall 1942 lists. First printings of regular ML titles published in fall 1965 have spring 1965 lists at the end of the volumes.

· ML lists in books printed from relief plates are usually accurate, apart from the muddles noted above. ML lists in books printed by offset lithography usually aren’t updated in later printings; “first” statements tend to be retained in later printings as well. ML titles printed by offset lithography before the mid-1960s include Norris, The Pit (1934), Newton, Amenities of Book Collecting (1935), Malraux, Man’s Fate (1936, balloon cloth printings only), Whitman, Leaves of Grass (Giant, 1940), Bemelmans, My War with the United States (1941), and The Thurber Carnival (1957). Most ML titles printed before 1965 were printed from relief plates and can be dated reliably from lists in the book. Most new titles after 1965 were printed by offset lithography. Most older titles were converted to offset lithography after 1965.

[Editor's Note: Dr. Neavill also points out in an e-mail to The Modern Library Mailing List dated 10 June 2005 that all new ML titles published between fall 1967 and 1970 with lists at the end of the volume used the spring 1967 list.]

Regular ML

Year

Season

#

Includes this...

...but not this

1925	Fall		Dumas, Camille	Anderson, Poor White
1926	Spring		Anderson, Poor White	Joyce, Dubliners
	Fall		Joyce, Dubliners	Hudson, Purple Land
1927	Spring		Hudson, Purple Land	Hardy, Jude the Obscure
	Fall		Hardy, Jude the Obscure	Dumas, Three Musketeers
1928	Spring		Dumas, Three Musketeers	Apuleius, Golden Ass
	Fall		Apuleius, Golden Ass	Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov
1929	Spring		Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov	Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
	Fall		Chaucer, Canterbury Tales	Hemingway, Sun Also Rises
1930	Spring		Hemingway, Sun Also Rises	Goethe, Faust
	Fall		Goethe, Faust	Conrad, Lord Jim
1931	Spring		Conrad, Lord Jim	Balzac, Droll Stories
	Fall		Balzac, Droll Stories	Dreiser, Sister Carrie
1932	Spring		Dreiser, Sister Carrie	Dickens, Pickwick Papers
	Fall		Dickens, Pickwick Papers	Lewis, Arrowsmith
1933	Spring		Lewis, Arrowsmith	Stein, Three Lives
	Fall	225	Stein, Three Lives	Caldwell, God's Little Acre
1934	Spring	225	Caldwell, God's Little Acre	Heyward, Porgy
	Fall	225	Heyward, Porgy	Hamsun, Growth of the Soil
1935	Spring	236	Hamsun, Growth of the Soil	Mann, Buddenbrooks
	Fall	239	Mann, Buddenbrooks	Gogol, Dead Souls
1936	Spring	242	Gogol, Dead Souls	Malraux, Man's Fate
	Fall	245	Malraux, Man's Fate	Graves, I, Claudius
1937	Spring	246	Graves, I, Claudius	Woolf, To The Lighthouse
	Fall	253	Woolf, To The Lighthouse	Confucius, Wisdom
1938	Spring	257	Confucius, Wisdom	Proust, Cities of the Plain
	Fall	262	Proust, Cities of the Plain	Stone, Lust for Life
1939	Spring	265	Stone, Lust for Life	Odets, Six Plays
	Fall	268	Odets, Six Plays	Chaucer, Troilus and Cressida
1940	Spring	271	Chaucer, Troilus and Cressida	Emerson, Complete Essays
	Fall	274	Emerson, Complete Essays	Hugo, Hunchback of Notre Dame
1941	Spring	271	Hugo, Hunchback of Notre Dame	Bemelmans, My War with the United States
	Fall	278	Bemelmans, My War with the United States	Lewis, Babbitt
1942	Spring	281	Lewis, Babbitt	Maurois, Disraeli
	Fall	284	Maurois, Disraeli	Du Maurier, Rebecca
1943	Spring	291	Du Maurier, Rebecca	Shakespeare (3 vols.)
	Fall	292	Shakespeare (3 vols.)	Jefferson, Life and Selected Writings
1944	Spring	299	Jefferson, Life and Selected Writings	Parker, Collected Poetry
	Fall	303	Parker, Collected Poetry	O. Henry, Best Short Stories
1945	Spring	304	O. Henry, Best Short Stories	Irving, Selected Writings
	Fall	306	Irving, Selected Writings	Hersey, Bell for Adano
1946	Spring	309	Hersey, Bell for Adano	Balzac, Père Goriot & Eugénie Grandet
	Fall	316	Balzac, Père Goriot & Eugénie Grandet	Aristotle, Introduction
1947	Spring	322	Aristotle, Introduction	Lewis, Dodsworth
	Fall	329	Lewis, Dodsworth	Aquinas, Introduction
1948	Spring	334	Aquinas, Introduction	Dickinson, Selected Poems
	Fall	334	Dickinson, Selected Poems	Austen, Pride and Prejudice & Sense and Sensibility
1949	Spring	341	Austen, Pride and Prejudice & Sense and Sensibility	Byron, Don Juan
	Fall	344	Byron, Don Juan	James, Washington Square
1950	Spring	347	James, Washington Square	Alcott, Little Women
	Fall	348	Alcott, Little Women	Cicero, Basic Works
1951	Spring	352	Cicero, Basic Works	Howells, Rise of Silas Lapham
	Fall	358	Howells, Rise of Silas Lapham	Dinesen, Out of Africa
1952	Spring	360	Dinesen, Out of Africa	Cooper, The Pathfinder
	Fall	362	Cooper, The Pathfinder	Gunther, Death Be Not Proud
1953	Spring	365	Gunther, Death Be Not Proud	Blake, Selected Poetry and Prose
	Fall	367	Blake, Selected Poetry and Prose	Byron, Selected Poetry
1954	Spring	370	Byron, Selected Poetry	Browning, Selected Poetry
	Fall	371	Browning, Selected Poetry	Faulkner, Go Down, Moses
1955	Spring	372	Faulkner, Go Down, Moses	Santayana, Sense of Beauty
	Fall	374	Santayana, Sense of Beauty	Tennyson, Selected Poetry
1956	Spring	376	Tennyson, Selected Poetry	Huxley, Brave New World
	Fall	377	Huxley, Brave New World	Caesar, Gallic War
1957	Spring	379	Caesar, Gallic War	Lewis, Cass Timberlane
	Fall	379	Lewis, Cass Timberlane	Descartes, Philosophical Writings
1958	Spring	380	Descartes, Philosophical Writings	Balzac, Cousin Bette
	Fall	383	Balzac, Cousin Bette	Auden, Selected Poems
1959	Spring	385	Auden, Selected Poems	Salinger, Nine Stories
	Fall	388	Salinger, Nine Stories	Colette, Six Novels
1960	Spring	388	Colette, Six Novels	Dickens, Our Mutual Friend
	Fall	393	Dickens, Our Mutual Friend	Camus, The Plague
1961	Spring	405	Camus, The Plague	Mailer, Naked and the Dead
	Fall	403	Mailer, Naked and the Dead	Hersey, Hiroshima
1962	Spring	408	Hersey, Hiroshima	Erasmus, In Praise of Folly
	Fall	415	Erasmus, In Praise of Folly	Hesse, Steppenwolf
1963	Spring	415	Hesse, Steppenwolf	Ellison, Invisible Man
	Fall		Ellison, Invisible Man	Malamud, Two Novels
1964	Spring		Malamud, Two Novels	Dewey, John Dewey on Education
	Fall		Dewey, John Dewey on Education	Capote, Selected Writings
1965	Spring		Capote, Selected Writings	Mann, Confessions of Felix Krull
	Fall		Mann, Confessions of Felix Krull	Mann, Doctor Faustus
1966	Spring		Mann, Doctor Fausus	Heller, Catch-22
	Fall		Heller, Catch-22	Faulkner, As I Lay Dying
1967	Spring		Faulkner, As I Lay Dying	Faulkner, Pylon
	Fall		Faulkner, Pylon	Forster, Collected Tales
1968	Spring		Forster, Collected Tales	Burgess, Clockwork Orange & Honey for the Bears
	Fall		Burgess, Clockwork Orange & Honey for the Bears	Kafka, The Castle
1969	Spring		Kafka, The Castle	Racine, Complete Plays (2 vols.)
	Fall		Racine, Complete Plays (2 vols.)	Styron, Confessions of Nat Turner
1970	Spring		Styron, Confessions of Nat Turner	Kosinski, Painted Bird
	Fall		Kosinski, Painted Bird

Giants

Year

Season

#

Includes this...

...but not this

1931	Fall	G3	Hugo, Les Misérables	Plutarch, Plutarch's Lives
1932	Spring	G5	Plutarch, Plutarch's Lives	Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
	Fall	G7	Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire	Twelve Famous Plays of the Restoration
1933	Spring	G10	Twelve Famous Plays of the Restoration	Scott, Quentin Durward, Ivanhoe, Kenilworth
	Fall	G12	Scott, Quentin Durward, Ivanhoe, Kenilworth	Bulfinch, Mythology
1934	Spring	G14	Bulfinch, Mythology	Browning, Poems and Plays
	Fall	G17	Browning, Poems and Plays	Symonds, Renaissance in Italy
1935	Spring	G21	Symonds, Renaissance in Italy	Lamb, Complete Works
	Fall	G24	Lamb, Complete Works	Darwin, Origin of Species & Descent of Man
1936	Spring	G27	Darwin, Origin of Species & Descent of Man	Myers, History of the Great American Fortunes
	Fall	G30	Myers, History of the Great American Fortunes	Nietzsche, Philosophy
1937	Spring	G34	Nietzsche, Philosophy	Hawthorne, Complete Novels and Selected Tales
	Fall	G37	Hawthorne, Complete Novels and Selected Tales	Poe, Complete Tales and Poems
1938	Spring	G40	Poe, Complete Tales and Poems	Tennyson, Poems and Plays
	Fall	G42	Tennyson, Poems and Plays	Lewisohn, Story of American Literature
1939	Spring	G45	Lewisohn, Story of American Literature	Metropolitan Opera Guide
	Fall	G48	Metropolitan Opera Guide	Eliot, Bes- Known Novels
1940	Spring	G51	Eliot, Best-Known Novels	Fielding, Tom Jones
	Fall	G54	Fielding, Tom Jones	Sterne, Tristam Shandy & A Sentimental Journey
1941	Spring	G56	Sterne, Tristam Shandy & A Sentimental Journey	Malraux, Man's Hope
	Fall	G58	Malraux, Man's Hope	Sixteen Famous American Plays
1942	Spring	G21	Sixteen Famous American Plays	Dostoyevsky, The Idiot
	Fall	G60	Dostoyevsky, The Idiot	Pushkin, Poems, Prose and Plays
1943	Spring	G62	Pushkin, Poems, Prose and Plays	Sixteen Famous British Plays
	Fall	G63	Sixteen Famous British Plays	Rabelais, Complete Works
1944	Spring	G65	Rabelais, Complete Works	Three Famous Murder Novels
	Fall		[no new titles]	[no new titles]
1945	Spring	G66	Three Famous Murder Novels	Anthology of Famous English and American Poetry
	Fall	G67	Anthology of Famous English and American Poetry	Paine, Selected Work
1946	Spring	G68	Paine, Selected Work	Donne & Blake, Complete Poetry
	Fall	G70	Donne & Blake, Complete Poetry	Sixteen Famous European Plays
1947	Spring	G71	Sixteen Famous European Plays	Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural
	Fall	G72	Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural	Subtreasury of American Humor
1948	Spring	G73	Subtreasury of American Humor	James, Short Stories
	Fall	G11	James, Short Stories	Thirty Famous One-Act Plays
1949	Spring	G22	Thirty Famous One-Act Plays	De Quincey, Selected Writings
	Fall	G9	De Quincey, Selected Writings	Augustine, City of God
1950	Spring	G74	Augustine, City of God	Stevenson, Selected Writings
	Fall	G75	Stevenson, Selected Writings	Melville, Selected Writings
1951	Spring	G57	Melville, Selected Writings	Anthology of Famous British Stories
	Fall		[no new titles]	[no new titles]
1952	Spring	G54	Anthology of Famous British Stories	Grimm & Anderson, Tales
	Fall	G76	Grimm & Anderson, Tales	Anthology of Famous American Stories
1953	Spring		[no new titles]	[no new titles]
	Fall	G77	Anthology of Famous American Stories	Holmes, Mind and Faith of Justice Holmes
1954	Spring	G78	Holmes, Mind and Faith of Justice Holmes	Great Voices of the Reformation
	Fall	G9	Great Voices of the Reformation	Wisdom of Catholicism
1955	Spring	G56	Wisdom of Catholicism	Wisdom of China and India
	Fall	G59	Wisdom of China and India	Wisdom of Israel
1956	Spring	G79	Wisdom of Israel	Dreiser, American Tragedy
	Fall	G80	Dreiser, American Tragedy	Stoic and Epicurean Philosophers
1957	Spring	G45	Stoic and Epicurean Philosophers	Famous Science-Fiction Stories
	Fall	G31	Famous Science-Fiction Stories	Encyclopedia of Modern American Humor
1958	Spring	G81	Encyclopedia of Modern American Humor	Faulkner, Faulkner Reader
	Fall		[no new titles]	[no new titles]
1959	Spring	G82	Faulkner, Faulkner Reader	European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche
	Fall		[no new titles]	[no new titles]
1960	Spring	G16	European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche	Murasaka, Tale of Genji
	Fall	G38	Murasaka, Tale of Genji	Wilson, Shock of Recognition
1961	Spring	G83	Wilson, Shock of Recognition	Mann, Stories of Three Decades
	Fall	G84	Mann, Stories of Three Decades	Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People
1962	Spring	G85	Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People	Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago
	Fall	G86	Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago	Medieval Epics
1963	Spring	G87	Medieval Epics	O'Hara, 49 Stories
	Fall	G88	O'Hara, 49 Stories	Great Classical Myths
1964	Spring	G89	Great Classical Myths	Spenser, Selected Poetry
	Fall	G91	Spenser, Selected Poetry	Spengler, Decline of the West
1965	Spring	G92	Spengler, Decline of the West	Parodies
	Fall	G93	Parodies	Cooper, Leatherstocking Saga
1966	Spring	G94	Cooper, Leatherstocking Saga	Brockway & Weinstock, World of Opera
	Fall	G95	Brockway & Weinstock, World of Opera	Balzac, Lost Illusions
1967	Spring	G97	Balzac, Lost Illusions	Hersey, The Wall
	Fall	G98	Hersey, The Wall	Thomas, Abraham Lincoln
1968	Spring	G64	Thomas, Abraham Lincoln	Beauvoir, Second Sex
	Fall	G44	Beauvoir, Second Sex	Gogol, Collected Tales and Plays
1969	Spring	G73	Gogol, Collected Tales and Plays	Lewis, Children of Sanchez
	Fall	G100	Lewis, Children of Sanchez	Between Hume and Mill
1970	Spring	G102	Between Hume and Mill

Copyright © 1992-2005 by Gordon B. Neavill. All rights reserved.

Original document updated 2024 (edits in green).