Monday, January 26, 2009

The Classics Club - Looking for list of titles

Some years ago, I subscribed to an "on approval" book club called The Classics Club, originally published by Walter J. Black in the 1940s.

I've got over thirty of the titles, and have found a number of others, but have never been able to locate a complete list of titles for this series.

I AM SEEKING THIS INFORMATION AND WOULD LIKE TO COMPLETE THIS COLLECTION AS LONG AS THE NUMBER OF VOLUMES IS REASONABLY FINITE.

Alas, Walter J. Black went out of business in the 1980s.

Here is the list of titles and authors that I either have or have confirmed are in the series:















































Own?TitleAuthor
trueA Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens
falseAutobiographyBenjamin Franklin
trueDiscoursesEpictetus
trueEssays and New AtlantisFrancis Bacon
trueEssays, Poems, AddressesRalph Waldo Emerson
trueFathers and SonsTurgenev
trueFive Great DialoguesPlato
trueGulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift
true Henry Esmond Thackeray
false Lives of the Saints
true Meditations Marcus Aurelius
true Old Goriot Balzac
true On Man In The Universe Aristotle
true On Politics And Education John Locke
true On The Nature Of ThingsLucretius
true Paradise Lost and Other Poems John Milton
false Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
false Progress and Poverty Henry George
false Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
true Selected Essays Montaigne
true Selected Lives And Essays Plutarch
false Selected Plays Henrik Ibsen
true Selected Poems Horace
true Selected Poems Walt Whitman
true Selected Poems Robert Browning
falseSelected StoriesAnton Chekov [ADDED]
false Selected Tales and Poems Edgar Allan Poe
true Selected Works Cicero
true Thaïs/Sylvestre Bonnard Anatole France
true The Beginnings of Modern Science Boynton
false The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer
true The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Vol. I, Comedies William Shakespeare
true The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Vol. II, Histories William Shakespeare
true The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Vol. III, Tragedies William Shakespeare
false The Golden Treasury Palgrave
true The History of Plymouth William Bradford
true The Iliad Homer
true The Law of War and Peace Hugo Grotius
true The Odyssey Homer
true The Praise of Folly Erasmus
false The Rubiyat Omar Khayyam
true The Way of All Flesh Samuel Butler
true Two Years Before The Mast Richard Henry Dana
true Utopia Sir Thomas More
true Walden Henry David Thoreau

8 comments:

  1. I have 36. By my count I'm missing 12 on your list, bringing the total to 48. I have Dickens christmas carol, not on your list.

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  2. My list shows 49 volumes, and I've found a 1950's advertisement for six Charles Dickens volumes which adds 4 more to the list because A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities are repeated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know this is an old post but it's been great as I set out to fill in my collection. Do you do you have the missing Dickens titles? I know the set includes A Christmas Carol and Tale of Two Cities.

    There is also a fourth Shakespeare book titled "Complete Works". I assume it has much of the same content as volumes 1-3 but in the spirit of collecting a full set, it becomes a must have. I also have "Selected Stories and Poems by Bret Harte", which is not on the original list. And does anyone have the author for Lives of the Saints?

    Happy book hunting!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not sure how old the comments are but regarding the bottom question by Unknown: "And does anyone have the author for Lives of the Saints?" If you're Catholic, it's Father Alban Butler. There is an old Polish Version by a Polish Jesuit but I'm pretty sure that the common "Lives of the Saints" is by Fr. Butler.

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  5. I have 47 books now and missing at least 3. I don't have the Canterbury Tales, Lives of Saints or Crime and Punishment. I have seen photos of the last two so I know they exist. I also only have 2 Dickens books, from the previous comment there may be 2 more.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10:11 PM UTC

    this auction lists 39 books and has a picture of them

    https://www.rug-auction.com/auction-lot/classics-collection-club-by-walter-j.-black-39_20E4483A6D

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just started looking for a set for myself because I remember my mother had the set at one time, but she gave it away or sold it in a garage sale not thinking that I might want it.

    I believe I had found one at a thrift store, but I can't remember which one right now. Like you, I have no idea how many volumes it consists of. You would think Wikipedia would have a complete list, and many of the sellers online want an arm and a leg for what they are tryign to pawn off on us.

    Eventually, I also want to find a leather bound set of Tolstoy's novels and other writings as well as some other authors that may not be in the Classics Club collection.

    One of my goals is to have my own personal library of the classics in hardbacks, that I can eventually pass on.

    - Harold Dean Sink
    Tulsa, OK
    1-20-2024

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5:47 PM UTC

    Happy to see others appreciating this collection. Here is my list: What am I missing?
    1 A Tale of Two Cities: Charles Dickens
    2 Autobiography: Benjamin Franklin
    3 Discourses: Epictetus
    4 Essays and New Atlantis: Francis Bacon
    5 Essays, Poems, Addresses: Ralph Waldo Emerson
    6 Fathers and Sons: Turgenev
    7 Five Great Dialogues: Plato
    8 Gulliver's Travels: Jonathan Swift
    9 Henry Esmond: Thackeray
    10 Lives of the Saints
    11 Meditations: Marcus Aurelius
    12 Old Goriot: Balzac
    13 On Man In The Universe: Aristotle
    14 On Politics And Education: John Locke
    15 On The Nature Of Things: Lucretius
    16 Paradise Lost and Other Poems: John Milton
    17 Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen
    18 Progress and Poverty: Henry George
    19 Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe
    20 Selected Essays: Montaigne
    21 Selected Lives And Essays: Plutarch
    22 Selected Plays: Henrik Ibsen
    23 Selected Poems: Horace
    24 Selected Poems: Walt Whitman
    25 Selected Poems: Robert Browning
    26 Selected Stories: Anton Chekov
    27 Selected Tales and Poems: Edgar Allan Poe
    28 Selected Works: Cicero
    29 Thaïs/Sylvestre Bonnard: Anatole France
    30 The Beginnings of Modern Science: Boynton
    31 The Canterbury Tales: Geoffrey Chaucer
    32 The Complete Works of Shakespeare: William Shakespeare
    33 The Golden Treasury: Palgrave
    34 The History of Plymouth: William Bradford
    35 The Iliad: Homer
    36 The Law of War and Peace: Hugo Grotius
    37 The Odyssey: Homer
    38 The Praise of Folly: Erasmus
    39 The Rubiyat: Omar Khayyam
    40 The Way of All Flesh: Samuel Butler
    41 Two Years Before The Mast: Richard Henry Dana
    42 Utopia: Sir Thomas More
    43 Walden: Henry David Thoreau
    44 A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens
    45 Select Stories and Poems: Bret Harte
    46 Crime and Punishment: Fyodor Dostoevsky

    ReplyDelete