Are the Everyman series
and Modern Library series related?

Both series began early in the 20th century (Everyman in 1906 England and soon after in the United States, Modern Library in 1917 United States inspired by Everyman) as populist publishing ventures. The idea was to put good literature (classic literature for Everyman, more modern material for Modern Library) into the hands of the common person in the form of really inexpensive books.

Interesting enough, Everyman's Library included American authors Hawthorne and Emerson among the earliest titles in the series, while the first dozen Modern Library publications didn't include a single American author.

Eventually, both series carried many of the same titles. But the Everyman Series catalog was far larger, with over 1,000 titles available - around 700 by the time The Modern Library came along. The Modern Library never surpassed about 480 titles at any given time (although it eventually boasted a history of nearly 1,000 titles).

It's interesting to note that, having bought the Modern Library series from Boni-Liveright in 1925, Cerf and Klopfer tried toward the end of WWII to secure the rights to distribute the Everyman Library in the United States. They failed.

For a more detailed comparison of Everyman to Modern Library, go to John Krygier's ML Bindings article and scroll to/search for "A Brief Digression".

Everyman specialist Terry Seymour has put together an Everyman's collector's guide. You can read John Krygier's review, and then contact Terry with any questions or to buy a copy.

For an excellent Everyman's Library Website, see Jeff Anderson's innovative Collecting Everyman's Library.

The Everyman's Library catalog, author list, dust jacket images, and other useful information not otherwise available at Anderson's site is provided at The Amenities of Everyman's Library Collecting.

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