aka/ Philosophy Series of the Modern Student’s Library
Charles Scribner’s Sons (New York, US)
Series dates: 1927-1940, 1950-1967 (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 Philosophy Series appears in 1927 and titles are issued until 1940. Reprints are reissued beginning in 1950 and ending in 1967.
Selections from Hobbes is shown below. Jackets for the series are common in design, stern and plain. Printed on pale blue, heavy paper, the jacket spines include the title and publisher. The jacket front adds the editor and publisher colophon. The main Modern Student’s Library is advertised on the front jacket flap, including Fiction, Poetry, and Biography titles.
The rear jacket flap continues the main series titles with Essays and Miscellaneous Prose and Volumes in Preparation. The back of the jacket advertises the Philosophy Series, edited by Ralph Barton Perry. Fourteen titles are listed, with one in preparation. A total of 16 titles would be eventually issued.
PHILOSOPHY SERIES
Editor, Ralph Barton Perry
Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University
ARISTOTLE: Selections
Edited by W.D. ROSS, Professor of Philosophy, Oriel College, University of Oxford
BACON: Selections
Edited by MATTHEW THOMPSON McCLURE, Professor of Philosophy, University of Illinois
BERKELEY: Selections
Edited by MARY W. CALKINS, Professor of Philosophy and Psychology, Wellesley College
DESCARTES: Selections
Edited by RALPH M. EATON, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University
HEGEL: Selections
Edited by JACOB LOEWENBERG, Professor of Philosophy, University of California
HOBBES: Selections
Edited by FREDERICK J.E. WOODBRIDGE, Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University
HUME: Selections
Edited by CHARLES W. HENDEL, JR., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University
KANT: Selections
Edited by THEODORE M. GREENE, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University
LOCKE: Selections
Edited by STERLING P. LAMPRECHT, Professor of Philosophy, Amherst College
PLATO: The Republic
With an introduction by C.M. Bakewell, Professor of Philosophy. Yale University
PLATO: Selections
Edited by RAPHAEL DEMOS, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Harvard University
ROUSSEAU: Selections
Edited by JOHN WILD, Instructor of Philosophy, Harvard University
SCHOPENHAUER: Selections
Edited by DEWITT H. PARKER, Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan
SELECTIONS FROM MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS, v. 1: Augustine to Albert the Great
Edited by RICHARD MCKEON, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University
SELECTIONS FROM MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHERS, v. 2: Roger Bacon to William of Ockham
Edited by RICHARD MCKEON, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University
SPINOZA: Selections
Edited by CHARLES W. HENDEL, McGill University
Tough, dark blue bindings have gold stamping, including the title and publisher on the spine and title and publisher’s imprint on the front.
The endpapers are blank, but I included a scan because of the diagrammatic notes a former owner (Howard Dunteman) composed.
The half-title page includes the series name and book title, faced by a prospectus for the Modern Student’s Library Philosophy Series.
The title page:
The copyright page includes the date 1930. 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. Twelve titles are listed in the Philosophy Series (compared to 14 published and one forthcoming on the dust jacket).
The French Series includes five titles in the catalog.
