George H. Doran Co. (New York, US)
Series dates: 1923-1927
Size: 4.75″ x 7″
Updated 7/3/2024
Doran’s Murray Hill Library featured many of its most notable authors, issued in 33 faux-leather pocket-sized volumes from 1923 until 1927 when Doran was absorbed into Doubleday (the firm became Doubleday Doran & Co.). The Murray Hill Library was preceded by Doran’s Pocket Books, published from 1913-1915 (half “war” titles and half Doran fiction of the era, including a few titles that would reappear in the Murray Hill Library). The Murray Hill Library consisted primarily of contemporary fiction, with a few stray titles (a New Testament translation and a few humor titles). At $2.50, these books were more than twice as expensive as series such as the Modern Library.
Doubleday’s Lambskin Library (1922-1934) was somewhat similar to Doran’s Murray Hill Library; a few years after the merger of Doubleday and Doran, the combined firm began issuing The Sun Dial Library (1929-1930), which included some titles from the Lambskin Library and Murray Hill Library. That series abruptly ended in 1930 when the Modern Library bought the series, added 11 of its titles to the Modern Library, and discontinued the rest. This episode reveals how titles were packaged and repackaged in different series over time. It also reveals the cut-throat competition in the world of reprint series in the first half of the 20th century.
An article about Doran (below) published in June of 1924 indicates the first 12 titles in the new Murray Hill Library series were issued “last year” (1923).
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The Literary Digest International Book Review, Volume 2, June 1924, p. 550. The first 12 titles are included, but one (Fortitude) is missing from the list. It’s included in an entry for the series on p. 83 of the next issue of this periodical. (source) |
This copy of Hugh Walpole’s Fortitude is undated but likely published in the series in 1923, among the first 12 titles. Dust jackets are common to the series, printed on unusual tan linen paper. The spine includes a Celtic-inspired design, replicated on the book spine under the jacket. The series name and a significant blurb for the title are included on the front of the jacket. The front jacket flap includes a glowing advertisement for the Doran imprint.
The back of the dust jacket includes a complete list of titles in the series, arranged in temporal order (initial to final titles). I’ve tried to break up the list by year, which is below.
The 33 titles in the series are below. I’ve tried to break them into categories based on the years the titles were issued. This division is tentative, as the list on the back of the jacket, which seems to be in the order of title issuance, does not always fit evidence in contemporary literary periodicals. I’ve also included dates for each title from WorldCat. These are almost entirely copyright dates, not the dates the titles were issued in the series.
1923: First 12 Titles
THE OLD WIVES’ TALE, Arnold Bennett (1911)
BURIED ALIVE, Arnold Bennett (1923)
SPANISH GOLD, G.A. Birmingham
GREENMANTLE, John Buchan (1916, 1923)
OLD JUDGE PRIEST, Irvin S. Cobb
OF HUMAN BONDAGE, W. Somerset Maugham (1915, 1927, 1929)
THE MOON AND SIXPENCE, W. Somerset Maugham (1919)
SONIA, Stephen McKenna (1917)
NOCTURNE, Frank Swinnerton (1917)
THE AMAZING INTERLUDE, Mary Roberts Rinehart (1918)
THE DOP DOCTOR, Richard Dehan
FORTITUDE, Hugh Walpole (1913)
1924 Titles
THE NEW TESTAMENT-A New Translation, Rev. James Moffatt, D.D.
CROME YELLOW, Aldous Huxley (1922)
CLAYHANGER, Arnold Bennett (1910)
HILDA LESSWAYS, Arnold Bennett (1911)
THE JUDGE, Rebecca West (1922)
THE TREMBLING OF A LEAF, W. Somerset Maugham (1921)
SPEAKING OF OPERATIONS AND OTHER HUMOR, Irvin S. Cobb (1923)
JENNIFER LORN, Elinor Wylie
1925 Titles
RICEYMAN STEPS, Arnold Bennett
THESE TWAIN, Arnold Bennett (1915)
YOUNG FELIX, Frank Swinnerton
THE CATHEDRAL, Hugh Walpole
THE BOOK OF DANIEL DREW, Bouck White (1910)
1926 Titles
MINCE PIE, Christopher Morley (1919)
THE JOURNAL OF A DISAPPOINTED MAN, W.N.P. Barbellion
ON A CHINESE SCREEN, W. Somerset Maugham (1922, 1926)
1927 Titles
WHOM GOD HATH SUNDERED, Oliver Onions
DENRY THE AUDACIOUS, Arnold Bennett
THE EARLY HISTORY OF JACOB STAHL (HISTORY OF JACOB STAHL, v. 1), J.D. Beresford
THE INVISIBLE EVENT (HISTORY OF JACOB STAHL, v. 2), J. D. Beresford
A CANDIDATE FOR TRUTH (HISTORY OF JACOB STAHL, v. 3), J. D. Beresford
The faux leather or leatherette material used to bind the books is adhered to cardboard and is starting to disintegrate. Bright gold typography and designs contrast with the wine-red binding material. The series name is prominent on the front of the book.
Mottled end-papers:
The half-title page:
A list of titles in the Murray Hill Library, with some later (1927) titles (and others) missing, faces the title page.
The copyright page, with the original 1913 copyright date. A cloth marker is bound into the book.
