Life, 1910-04-14 · page 36 of 44
Life — April 14, 1910 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **publisher advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. P. F. Collier & Son promotes "The Harvard Classics"—a curated book collection assembled by Harvard president **Dr. Charles W. Eliot** (pictured). The ad emphasizes that Collier & Son holds **exclusive publishing rights** protected by New York Supreme Court injunction against competitors. This legal protection is highlighted as a selling point. The appeal targets middle-class readers seeking "liberal education" through a manageable collection. Collier claims competitive advantage through vertical integration (owning their own printing and binding facilities), allowing direct sales at lower prices than "similarly made books." Dr. Eliot's endorsement quotes stress the collection's cultural importance and accessibility—suggesting that reading these books, even briefly daily, provides essential education. The "five-foot shelf" concept—a complete liberal education occupying minimal space—was genuinely innovative marketing for the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
President David Starr Jordan says: ««T believe that every book contained in the series is of high permanent value in the history of the world, as representing the noblest thoughts which have been cast into literary form.’” Can be Purchased Only from the Publishers The N.'Y. Supreme Court has pro- tected P. F. Collier & Son as sole pub- lishers of the Five-Foot Shelf by issuing permanent injunctions against publishing houses that have attempted to infringe on their rights and deceive the public, Secure the Books Direct at a Special Price R. ELIOT'S Five-Foot Shelf of Books (The Harvard Classics) is published only by P. F. Collier & Son, through special arrangement with Dr. Eliot, and can not be obtained else- where. By manufacturing and selling to the amount of $80,000,000 worth in the past thirty years, we have demonstrated our ability to sell books at prices beyond competition. The volumes of The Harvard Classics are handsomely printed from new type, beautifully illustrated, exquisitely bound, yet through the Collier Policy of printing and binding our own books in our own printing establishment and our own bookbindery—the largest in the country—and selling direct, we save all middlemen’s profits and give you, the subscriber, the benefit. That is why you can purchase the Five-Foot Shelf of Books, magnificently printed and bound, at very much less than similarly made books would cost you elsewhere. The Complete Official Contents Now Ready In the history of book publishing nothing so attracted popular attention Shelf. ‘The correct authentic ist has just been completed and contains as the announcement that Dr. Eliot would select from the literature of the several hundred more authors than the lists published in the papers. It is world the books which, to quote his own words, would delineate ‘the prog- not a compilation of fragmentary literature in the generally accepted sense, ress of the human race within historical times.’* Newspapers at that time but a library of liberal education embracing the works of over three hundred published ridiculously incorrect lists of books as Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot authors, each work complete and bearing some relation to the other. A Library of Liberal Education ‘elt is my belief,"? said Dr. Eliot, «that the faithful and considerate reading of these books, with such re-readings and y prescribe, will give any man the essentials of a liberal education, even if he can devote to n minutes a day.’ * ¢ «sl regard the undertaking as 2 useful extension of my educational work, and I cherish the hope that, when the work is finished, the educated public will so regard it.’ How to Secure the Five-Foot Shelf with Little Outlay 1 &XThe Collier plan of selling on easy terms makes it possible for all to own the complete Five-Foot Shelf at a nominal ~, cost. We have prepared editions in various bindings for those who demand the luxurious limited editions as well as for the reader who desires inexpensive volumes. All the books are handsomely printed from new specially made plates on hieh-grade antique finished paper, handsomely illustrated with reproductions of famous paintings and portraits. Name comicbooks.com