Modern Library Chronicles Covers
2000 - 2011
Bindings
The early printings of the first ten Chronicles titles have pictorial covers and translucent jackets with title, author, and other information. Each spine has the Chronicles series book number and a torchbearer. The endpapers are designed in the Bernhard style. Dimensions are 4 3/4" x 7 1/2". These pictorial covers are shown below.
The pictorial covers were replaced with a plain cover style similar to binding type 17, with full grey cloth binding, blindstamped Bernhard logo on front, and gold lettering on spine. This binding was used on C-001 through C-031 (but only on reprints for C-001 to C-010). Each spine has the Chronicles series book number, and either a binding #9 (C-001 to C-0028) or binding #4 (C-029 to C-031) style torchbearer. The endpaper style is Bernhard. There are three different sizes: the dimensions for C-001 through C-020, and C-024, are 4 3/4" x 7 1/2" (the same as the early pictorial covers). MLC C-021 is an oddball, with dimensions of 5 1/2" x 8 1/4". The dimensions for C-022, C-023, and C-025 through C-031 are 5 5/8" x 8 1/2".
The covers for the last three MLCs, C-032 through C-034, changed to wheat quarter cloth and beige paper, with the same blindstamped Bernhard logo on front and Bernhard endpapers. The spine has gold lettering, book number, and binding #4 style torchbearer. The dimensions are 5 5/8" x 8 1/2".
The Chronicles series also had book club editions. Known titles in this format are C-022, C-023, C-027, C-029, and C-033. The covers are dull black paper (no stamp) with gold (C-022, C-027, and C-029) or silver (C-033) lettering on spine. There is no MLC number on the spine, and the end papers are blank. The dimensions are 5 5/8" x 8 1/2".
Jackets
The first jackets were translucent, which allowed the pictorial boards underneath to show through. These jackets, on C-001 through C-010, contained a list of authors and Chronicles subjects on the back (including works that were never published). When the jackets changed to a solid format, these first ten titles maintained the same jacket back. A torchbearer is present on the lower front, lower back, and lower spine.
After the initial ten titles, the jacket back changed to show praise (or often stated as "advance praise") for the book, which were one or more reviews of the work. The exceptions to this are C-020 Nazism and War and C-030 Prehistory: The Making Of The Human Mind which have an excerpt from the book rather than reviews, and C-033 Korean War which has both an excerpt and a review. The inside (inverse) of the jackets are blank.
The torchbearer is always present on the jacket spine, although the style changed starting at C-028. A second torchbearer was originally on the bottom of the jacket back. Starting with C-012 the torchbearer moved to the top of the jacket back and turned facing right (although C-013 was still at the bottom and facing left, like C-001 through C-011), changed styles (starting with C-028), then moved from the jacket back to front starting with C-029. Modern Library Chronicles was not indicated on the back on C-011, C-012, and C-013.
The book club edition jacket did not contain the price barcode (only the ISBN barcode), and included an additional number.
Paperbacks
The Modern Library Chronicles paperback editions were released in the same order, in almost all cases, between 1 and 3 years after the hardcover release. The first covers had a silver box on the front and rear which wrapped around the spine. A torchbearer and "Modern Library Chronicles" are displayed on both front and back, while the spine has a binding #9 torchbearer and MLC#. The silver wrap around box was replaced with a torchbearer on the front which moved around or was not present at all, and the spine torchbearer was changed to the Bernhard version. This latter format is on all Chronicles from #024 to #34, and also (oddly) #14 and #22.
The first eleven titles (MLC#1 to MLC#11, with the exception of MLC#2) have different cover images than the hardcover/dust jackets. After that, the design is the same (or nearly so), except for MLC#16, which is completely different. Almost all paperback front covers include a review comment, while almost all the dust jacket front covers do not. Typical with the ML there are exceptions: The MLC#28 paperback does not have a review and the jackets for MLC#24 and MLC#29 do have a review.
