Harvard Classics 51 Volume Set ~ 1st Printing, 1st Edition #26949

Description: HARVARD CLASSICS 1909 / 1910 #26949 FIRST EDITION / FIRST PRINTING New York: P. F. Collier & Son VOLUMES MEASURE 7 7/8" TALL x 5 1/2" DEEP _______________________________________- Set is in VERY FINE condition. In the book trade that means as-new. Think about that for more than a second. And then hear it put another way : for a set that was printed 115 years ago it is in as about as new of condition that you will ever see. How could I possibly know this, you wonder. Well, I've sold many Harvard sets over 20+ years and nearly all have some sort of problem in terms of condition. This set is not perfect; but it is pretty damn near to perfection. And if you were lucky enough to have one of these sets delivered to your home in 1910 you might, just might, have had an issue with them getting damaged in transit. Nearly all volumes have the feel of never having been read. It's sad, but it's the fate of many a book not destined to live its true destiny : they're all primped and primed merely to be sat on the shelf to do nothing but sit and look pretty. Note how there are no bookends; and that the volumes on either side are standing on a cliff's edge taunting them not to fall down. Now, there's no way I could place a lesser set on that mantle without a few of them toppling over both sides. They typically have enough of a lean for gravity to pull them over. Not so here. NO MUSTY / NO SMOKY / NO FOUL ODORSNO MARGINALIA / NO FOXING The Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909. The most comprehensive and well-researched anthology of all time. Covering every major literary figure, philosopher, religion, folklore and historical subject through the twentieth century. In 1909/1910, Dr. Charles W. Eliot, then President of Harvard University, put together an extraordinary library of "all the books needed for a real education". "Dr. Charles W.Eliot, the former Harvard president who edited the series, maintained that if one read just 15 minutes a day from the 51 volumes he assembled, it would constitute "a good substitute for a liberal education to anyone who would read them with devotion." Reading Guide. This honored encyclopedia of literature encompasses more than 2,000 years of the world's greatest poetry, drama, history, philosophy, scripture, and more. The full set brings together more than 1,850 works by over 300 masters of thought and letters, and includes Dr. Eliot's Reader's Guide and a General Index containing upwards of 18,000 entries. "My purpose in selecting- The Harvard Classics was to provide the literary materials from which a careful and persistent reader might gain a fair view of the progress of man observing , recording, inventing, and imagining from the earliest historical times to the close of the nineteenth century. Within the limits of fifty volumes, containing about 22,000 pages, I was to provide the means of obtaining such a knowledge of ancient and modern literature as seems essential to the twentieth century idea of a cultivated man. The best acquisition of a cultivated man is a liberal frame of mind or way of thinking; but there must be added to that possession acquaintance with the prodigious store of recorded discoveries, experiences, and reflections which humanity in its intermittent and irregular progress from barbarism to civilization has acquired and laid up. From that store I proposed to make such a selection as any intellectually ambitious American family might use to advantage, even if their early opportunities of education had been scanty." THE HARVARD CLASSICS Vol. 1: FRANKLIN, WOOLMAN, PENN· His Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin· The Journal of John Woolman, by John Woolman (1774 and subsequent editions)· Fruits of Solitude, by William PennVol. 2. PLATO, EPICTETUS, MARCUS AURELIUS· The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito, by Plato· The Golden Sayings, by Epictetus· The Meditations, by Marcus AureliusVol. 3. BACON, MILTON'S PROSE, THOS. BROWNE· Essays, Civil and Moral, and New Atlantis, by Francis Bacon· Areopagitica and Tractate of Education, by John Milton· Religio Medici, by Sir Thomas BrowneVol. 4. COMPLETE POEMS IN ENGLISH, MILTON· Complete poems written in English, by John MiltonVol. 5. ESSAYS AND ENGLISH TRAITS, EMERSON· Essays and English Traits, by Ralph Waldo EmersonVol. 6. POEMS AND SONGS, BURNS· Poems and songs, by Robert BurnsVol. 7. CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE, IMITATION OF CHRIST· The Confessions, by Saint Augustine· The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas á KempisVol. 8. NINE GREEK DRAMAS· Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Furies, and Prometheus Bound, by Aeschylus· Oedipus the King and Antigone, by Sophocles· Hippolytus and The Bacchae, by Euripides· The Frogs, by AristophanesVol. 9. LETTERS AND TREATISES OF CICERO AND PLINY· On Friendship, On Old Age, and letters, by Cicero· Letters, by Pliny the YoungerVol. 10. WEALTH OF NATIONS, ADAM SMITH· The Wealth of Nations, by Adam SmithVol. 11. ORIGIN OF SPECIES, DARWIN· The Origin of Species, by Charles DarwinVol. 12. PLUTARCH'S LIVES· Lives, by PlutarchVol. 13. AENEID, VIRGIL· Aeneid, by VirgilVol. 14. DON QUIXOTE, PART 1, CERVANTES· Don Quixote, part 1, by CervantesVol. 15. PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, DONNE& HERBERT, BUNYAN, WALTON· The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan· The Lives of Donne and Herbert, by Izaak WaltonVol. 16. THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS· Stories from the Thousand and One NightsVol. 17. FOLKLORE AND FABLE, AESOP, GRIMM, ANDERSON· Fables, by Aesop· Children's and Household Tales, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm· Tales, by Hans Christian AndersenVol. 18. MODERN ENGLISH DRAMA· All for Love, by John Dryden· The School for Scandal, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan· She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith· The Cenci, by Percy Bysshe Shelley· A Blot in the 'Scutcheon, by Robert Browning· Manfred, by Lord ByronVol. 19. FAUST, EGMONT, ETC. DOCTOR FAUSTUS, GOETHE, MARLOWE· Faust, part 1, Egmont, and Hermann and Dorothea, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe· Dr. Faustus, by Christopher MarloweVol. 20. THE DIVINE COMEDY, DANTE· The Divine Comedy, by Dante AlighieriVol. 21. I PROMESSI SPOSI, MANZONI· I Promessi Sposi, by Alessandro ManzoniVol. 22. THE ODYSSEY, HOMER· The Odyssey, by HomerVol. 23. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST, DANA· Two Years Before the Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, Jr.Vol. 24. ON THE SUBLIME, FRENCH REVOLUTION, ETC., BURKE· On Taste,· On the Sublime and Beautiful, Reflections on the French Revolution,· A Letter to a Noble LordVol. 25. AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ETC., ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES, J.S. MILL, T. CARLYLE· Autobiography and On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill· Characteristics, Inaugural Address at Edinburgh, and Sir Walter Scott, by Thomas CarlyleVol. 26. CONTINENTAL DRAMA· Life is a Dream, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca· Polyeucte, by Pierre Corneille· Phèdre, by Jean Racine· Tartuffe, by Molière· Minna von Barnhelm, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing· William Tell, by Friedrich von SchillerVol. 27. ENGLISH ESSAYS: SIDNEY TO MACAULAYVol. 28. ESSAYS: ENGLISH AND AMERICANVol. 29. VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE, DARWIN· The Voyage of the Beagle, by Charles DarwinVol. 30. FARADAY, HELMHOLTZ, KELVIN, NEWCOMB, ETC· The Forces of Matter and The Chemical History of a Candle, by Michael Faraday· On the Conservation of Force and Ice and Glaciers, by Hermann von Helmholtz· The Wave Theory of Light and The Tides, by Lord Kelvin· The Extent of the Universe, by Simon Newcomb· Geographical Evolution, by Sir Archibald GeikieVol. 31. AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BENVENUTO CELLINI· The Autobiography of Benvenuto CelliniVol. 32. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS· Essays, by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne· Montaigne and What is a Classic?, by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve· The Poetry of the Celtic Races, by Ernest Renan· The Education of the Human Race, by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing· Letters upon the Aesthetic Education of Man, by Friedrich von Schiller· Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, by Immanuel Kant· Byron and Goethe, by Giuseppe MazziniVol. 33. VOYAGES AND TRAVELS· An account of Egypt from The Histories, by Herodotus· Germany, by Tacitus· Sir Francis Drake Revived, by Philip Nichols· Sir Francis Drake's Famous Voyage Round the World, by Francis Pretty· Drake's Great Armada, by Captain Walter Bigges· Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage to Newfoundland, by Edward Haies· The Discovery of Guiana, by Sir Walter RaleighVol. 34. FRENCH AND ENGLISH PHILOSOPHERS, DESCARTES, VOLTAIRE, ROUSSEAU, HOBBES· Discourse on Method, by René Descartes· Letters on the English, by Voltaire· On the Inequality among Mankind and Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar, by Jean Jacques Rousseau· Of Man, Being the First Part of Leviathan, by Thomas HobbesVol. 35. CHRONICLE AND ROMANCE, FROISSART, MALORY, HOLINSHEAD· Chronicles, by Jean Froissart· The Holy Grail, by Sir Thomas Malory· A Description of Elizabethan England, by William HarrisonVol. 36. MACHIAVELLI, MORE, LUTHER· The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli· The Life of Sir Thomas More, by William Roper· Utopia, by Sir Thomas More· The Ninety-Five Theses, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, and On the Freedom of a Christian, by Martin LutherVol. 37. LOCKE, BERKELEY, HUME· Some Thoughts Concerning Education, by John Locke· Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists, by George Berkeley· An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, by David HumeVol. 38. HARVEY, JENNER, LISTER, PASTEUR· The Oath of Hippocrates· Journeys in Diverse Places, by Ambroise Paré· On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals, by William Harvey· The Three Original Publications on Vaccination Against Smallpox, by Edward Jenner· The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever, by Oliver Wendell Holmes· On the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, by Joseph Lister· Scientific papers, by Louis Pasteur· Scientific papers, by Charles LyellVol. 39. PREFACES AND PROLOGUESVol. 40. ENGLISH POETRY 1: CHAUCER TO GRAYVol. 41. ENGLISH POETRY 2: COLLINS TO FITZGERALDVol. 42. ENGLISH POETRY 3: TENNYSON TO WHITMANVol. 43. AMERICAN HISTORICAL DOCUMENTSVol. 44. SACRED WRITINGS 1· Confucian: The sayings of Confucius· Hebrew: Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes· Christian I: Luke and ActsVol. 45. SACRED WRITINGS 2· Christian II: Corinthians I and II and hymns· Buddhist: Writings· Hindu: The Bhagavad-Gita· Mohammedan: Chapters from the KoranVol. 46. ELIZABETHAN DRAMA 1· Edward the Second, by Christopher Marlowe· Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest, by William ShakespeareVol. 47. ELIZABETHAN DRAMA 2· The Shoemaker's Holiday, by Thomas Dekker· The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson· Philaster, by Beaumont and Fletcher· The Duchess of Malfi, by John Webster· A New Way to Pay Old Debts, by Philip MassingerVol. 48. THOUGHTS AND MINOR WORKS, PASCAL· Thoughts, letters, and minor works, by Blaise PascalVol. 49. EPIC AND SAGA· Beowulf· The Song of Roland· The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel· The Story of the Volsungs and NiblungsVol. 50. INTRODUCTION, READER'S GUIDE, INDEXESVol. 51. LECTURES DEFINITIONS OF CONDITION : VERY FINE (AS NEW/MINT) ~ Very Fine means the book is in the same immaculate condition as when it emerged from the bindery. There are no defects or marks, and the dust jacket (if it was issued with one) must be perfect and without any tears. In short, it is a copy that is close to perfect in every respect. It should be noted that in the real world, Very Fine books are relatively uncommon, and that most Antiquarian Booksellers use Fine as the highest condition grading. FINE ~ Fine is marginally less than perfect, and may designate a book that is still new, or a book that has been carefully read. The use of the term Fine (as compared to Near Fine or Very Good) often depends on when the book was published. A recent book should have no notable defects at all. But the dustjacket of a Fine older book may have a small closed tear, or be a little rubbed, even a bit worn at the edges. Such defects, if present, must be minor and should always be noted. (Note also that a book may be new and unread, but it may have aged on the shelf to the point of being considered Near Fine or even Very Good. Similarly a unique 200-year-old book might be viewed as "Fine", while a recent book in the exact same condition could only be described as "Very Good".) NEAR FINE ~ Somewhere between Very Good and Fine. The distinction is usually in the eye of the bookseller and involves minor defects (which must be described). Near Fine is generally meant to inform the customer that the book's condition is excellent but "not quite Fine". VERY GOOD ~ Very Good can describe a used book that shows shelfwear and visible signs of having been read. Its dustjacket may be rubbed, chipped, or even missing small pieces, but it should generally be clean and bright, depending on how old it is. The book should always be clean and tight, and the overall appearance should be of a desirable copy. A very old book may show some foxing. The description of a Very Good book ought to include all notable flaws. GOOD ~ Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. A Good book may be cocked, have loose joints, and be missing a dustjacket. But it must be complete, clean, and worth keeping. Its value will be a fraction of a Fine copy, unless it is very scarce. READING COPY FAIR POOR EX-LIBRARY ______ Any questions, please inquire.

Price: 1245 USD

Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

End Time: 2025-01-22T05:09:32.000Z

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