Charles Scribner’s Sons (New York, US)
Series dates: 1928-1936, 1956-1961 (reprints)
Size: 4.5″ x 6.5″
Scribner’s Modern Student’s Library series was scholarly in tone and content with seemingly meticulous editing. The books themselves had higher quality binding and paper. Aimed primarily at educational (high school, college) buyers, most of the books were edited by scholars who provided introductions, notes, and, when necessary, guidance in selecting content (in collections of poetry or letters). Reviews of books in the series in educational or academic journals tended to offer high praise for titles in the series.
There were two subseries, for Philosophy and French titles. The French Series appears in 1928 and titles are issued until 1936. Reprints are reissued beginning in 1956 and ending in 1961. The text of all books in the series are in French.
Indiana by George Sand is shown below. Jackets for the series are common in design, stern and plain. Printed on tan, heavy paper, the jacket spines include the title, author and publisher. The jacket front adds the editor and publisher colophon. The front jacket flap is blank.
The rear jacket flap is also blank. The French series is advertised on the back of the jacket, with 13 titles.
FRENCH SERIES
Editor, Horatio Smith
Professor of French Languages and Literature, Brown University
BALZAC: Le Pere Goriot
With an introduction by HORATIO SMITH, Brown University
CORNEILLE: Le Cid, Horace, Polyeucte, Le Menteur
Edited by C.H.C. WRIGHT, Professor of French Language and Literature, Harvard University
FLAUBERT: Madame Bovary
With an introduction by CHRISTIAN GAUSSs, Dean of the College, Princeton University
MADAME DE LAFAYETTE: La Princesse de Cleves
With an introduction by H. ASHTON, Professor of French Language and Literature, University of British Columbia
MOLIERE: Les Precieuses Ridicules, Le Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope
Edited by WILLIAM A. NITZE and HILDA L. NORMAN, University of Chicago
PREVOST: Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut
With an introduction by Lours LANDRE, Associate Professor of French, Brown University
RACINE: Andromaque, Britannicus, Phedre
Edited by H. CARRINGTON LANCASTER, Professor of French Literature, Johns Hopkins University, and EDMOND A. MERAS, Professor of French Literature, Adelphi College
GEORGE SAND: Indiana
With an introduction by HERMANN H. THORNTON, Associate Professor of French and Italian, Oberlin College
STENDHAL: Le Rouge et le Nair
With an introduction by PAUL HAZARD, College de France
VOLTAIRE: Candide and Other Philosophical Tales
Edited by MORRIS BISHOP, Assistant Professor of the Romance Languages and Literature, Cornell University
FRENCH ROMANTIC PLAYS: Dumas’s Antony, Hugo’s Hernani and Ruy Bias, Vigny’s Chatterton, Musset’s On ne badine pas avec l’amour.
Edited by W. W. COMFORT, President, Haverford College
FRENCH ROMANTIC PROSE
Edited by W. W. COMFORT, President, Haverford College
FOUR FRENCH COMEDIES OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: Lesage’s Turcaret, Marivaux’s Le jeu de l’amour et du hassard, Sedaine’s Le philosophe sans le savoir, Beaumarchais’s Le barbier de Seville.
Edited by CASIMIR D. ZDANOWICZ, Professor of French, University of Wisconsin
Tough, dark blue bindings have gold stamping, including the title, author, and publisher on the spine and title and publisher’s imprint on the front.
The half-title page includes the series name and book title, faced by a prospectus for the Modern Student’s Library French Series.
The title page:
The copyright page includes the date 1935. A Scribner colophon is placed at the bottom of the copyright page.
The back of the book includes a catalog of titles, arranged by category, in the Modern Student’s Library. Categories include Novels…
Poetry, Essays and Miscellaneous Prose…
Biography, the Philosophy Series…
And the French Series. 13 titles are listed (same as on the back of the dust jacket).
