Modern Library in the Media (continued)

1960 - 1968
(with several years missing)


1960 - Two paperback ads - but the one on right lists only ghost titles! All of the right-hand ad's titles were later published as Vintage paperbacks, a line that ML had just purchased.

New York Times, Jan 17, 1960

New York Times, Sep 18, 1960


1962 - The top ad is from Brentano's nearly duplicating the ad from ML below. The author's pictures (all men, I notice) are quite good. Prices: $1.95 regulars, $2.95 giants.

New York Times, Apr 23, 1962
(Click to download .pdf file)


Date & source undetermined


1965 - Price: regulars $2.45, giants $3.95

New York Times, Dec 19, 1965

New York Times, Nov 14, 1965


New York Times, Nov 7, 1965


1967 - Hey —How'd that woman sneak in??? Prices are all over the place with some regulars at $1.95 and others at $2.45, giants at $3.95.

New York Times, Apr 9, 1967


1968 - In this ad, ML is trying to get decent copies of its own library from the public. According to ML specialist bibliographer Bary Neavill, this was the period when Random House was converting the Modern Library from letterpress (relief) printing plates to the less pricey offset lithography process. To do that, they took clean copies of backlist titles, photographed the pages, and made offset plates from the negatives. They wanted to photograph copies of first or very early printings since later printings tended to show wear from the well-used and sometimes battered plates. As to why ML didn't have decent copies of its own library, Barry said in an e-mail to the ML Mailing List on 12/10/06, "These guys were publishers whose focus was *selling* books. They weren't librarians!"

New York Times, Dec 8, 1968

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