The Harvard Classics P.F. Collier Publishing 1909-1914 Your Choice of either TWO VOLUME set: Sacred Writings OR Elizabethan Drama Rare Book

This listing is for one of the TWO VOLUME sets offered in the title variation listings of The Harvard Classics Editor Charles W Eliot published by P.F Collier Publishing circa 1909-1914. Each volume is very good inside and out. Most have light natural tanning to pages from age but they are very clean inside and out. Each is bound in maroon hardcover boards with gold veritas design front and gold Harvard Classics/title/publisher lettering along spine. The cover of each is also very good with only light shelf wear to most volumes. Each is bound with fine sewn binding for durability and each binding is tight and straight. They all are crown octavo book size or 5" x 8".


The P.F Collier Editions of The Harvard Classics were first published in 1909 and offered in three different bindings. The Harvard Classics were all edited by Charles W. Eliot in a 50 volume set originally published in 1909 and 1910. Charles W. Eliot was the President of Harvard at the time and spoke about the Harvard Classics in speeches, making references to a "3 foot shelf of books" that could afford any reader an education were he to read them all. He was pressed to expand on exactly what books would be included in that "3 foot shelf" and he concluded that one would actually need a 5 foot shelf. No titles were defined at that time, but Colliers implored Eliot to chose 50 books for a 5 foot shelf, they would publish if Eliot would define the books. So The Harvard Classics was born. At the time they were often referred to as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf of Books. Reprinted many times, the final print run from Collier was the 62nd printing in the late 1960's.

Please choose one of the two volume sets offered in the title variation listings. One set is Sacred Writings: Volume One Confucian Hebrew and Christian and Volume Two: Christian Buddhist Hindu and Mohammedan.

The other set is Elizabethan Drama; Volume One Marlowe and Shakespeare w Intro and Notes and Volume Two Dekker Jonson Beaumont and Fletcher Webster and Massinger.

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