Quick Guide
to Giant Binding Styles
1931-1991
This quick guide describes the major binding types used for Giant editions in the series 1931-1986. Weird anomalies exist, especially after 1963, (Style 6 and beyond) but those listed here are the common ones collected by most Giant collectors. Style numbers are based on the Toledano Guide. To see a table that identifies actual binding styles confirmed to exist for each title, click here. For info on non-giant binding styles, see Quick Guide to Regular Binding Styles 1917-1991.

Giants were uniformly published as cloth-covered hardbounds (stiff boards, no flexis) 5 1/2" wide by 8 1/4" tall with sewn bindings through 1975. Beginning in 1977 through 1986, the cloth covering was replaced with red-brown paper; the blocks were perfect bound.

Style G1

Spine: at the top, decorative device followed by a bar, title, another bar, and (usually) the author's name; at the bottom, a bar, "MODERN LIBRARY," and another bar

Front: highly decorated with barred areas at the top with the title and at the bottom with the author's name

In Use: 1931

Style G2

Spine: gold text; overprint ML image and "MODERN LIBRARY GIANTS" at base

Front: Kent torchbearer image

In Use: 1932 - 1933

This style is nearly the same as the earliest version of regular binding style 7.

Style G3

Spine: At the top, double bars with decorative device, silver text, and another set of double bars with decorative device; at the bottom, "MODERN LIBRARY

Front: Kent torchbearer image

In Use: 1934 - 1937

But for the double bars with decorative devices on the spine, this style is quite like the regular series style 6.

Style G4

Spine: At the top, a colored field bounded by bars with lettering over the field; at the bottom, a kent torchbearer followed by a field of the same color as the one at the top bounded by bars with lettering over the field "MODERN LIBRARY."

Front: Kent torchbearer image

In Use: 1938 - 1944

Style G5

Spine: Double bars followed by the title in large caps, author in small caps, "Modern Library" in script, a second set of double bars, all enclosed within a colored rectangle. Below is a Kent torchbearer enscribed within an oval on a field of the same color as the rectangle

Front: Kent torchbearer enscribed within an oval on a field of the same color as the spine's rectangle

In Use: 1945 - 1963

Style G6

Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY."

Front: Right-facing Kent torchbearer image enscribed within hexagram followed by "MODERN LIBRARY"

In Use: 1963 - 1967

This style is close to style 11 in the regular series.

Style G6(a)

Spine: Kent torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY."

Front: blindstamped lowercase "ml" enscribed within large blindstamped single line design

In Use: Spring 1967

This style, the same as regular biding style 12 except for the color of "MODERN LIBRARY" on the spine, was used for only one title - Balzac's Lost Illusions.

Style G7

Spine: Fujita torchbearer followed by bar, lettering, another bar, and "MODERN LIBRARY" all in silver

Front: "ml" enscribed within large single line design

In Use: 1967 - 1975

Style G8

Spine: text (title / author / Modern Library) in gold at spine top

Front: blind-stamped Fujita-style torchbearer in upper right corner

In Use: 1977 - 1982

Style G9

Spine: text (title / author / Modern Library) in gold at spine top

Front: centered square with torchbearer in black ink

In Use: 1982 - 1991

Note: Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a unique size: W 6 1/2" x H 8"