Scribner Library

Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons

Years: 1960-1979

Related Series: Scribner School / Student Paperbacks

ISBN format: 0-684-xxxxx-c

Within the Scribner Library, there were a number of sub-series:

    • Books for Young Readers -- young adult titles

    • Contemporary Classics -- recent classics of literature

    • Emblem Editions -- practical and entertaining books on popular subjects like gardening, cooking and domestic arts, and mathematical recreations

    • First Editions -- books by new authors that appeared in cloth and paper simultaneously

    • Headline Editions -- books on current issues

    • Illustrated Classics -- classic literature illustrated by artists like N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, and Ethel Francis Butts

    • Lyceum Editions -- authoritative titles in religion, science, history, literary criticism, and other areas

    • Omnibus Volumes -- treasuries, readers, and collected volumes

    • Scribner Garden Library -- titles by gardening expert Jack Kramer

There were at least 2 box sets that collected SL titles:

    • Galsworthy (SL3, SL206, SL207, SL208, SL209, & SL210)

    • Churchill -- Marlborough (SL270, SL271, SL272, & SL273)

Evidently, the series numbering ended with the 1979 titles -- and possibly with SL 900, a nice even number. After 1979, only ISBNs identify titles in Scribner Library ads.

Scribners to Publish New Paperbound Series, PW, Nov. 16, 1959, at 33.

Charles A. Madison, Book Publishing in America 422 (1966):

In 1960 the firm launched the Scribner Library, a series of paperback reprints from its rich backlist in fiction, belles-lettres, and religion. These books sold widely, particularly in colleges, and soon became one of the firm's most profitable ventures.

Image to left: Advertisement, 21 College English [nn] (Mar. 1960)

PW, May 15, 1961, at 37, 40 (noting availability of display boxes holding descriptive booklets about the Scribner Library, with photo at 40).

Progress Report on Scribner Library, PW, June 19, 1961, at 62, 64.

PW, Aug. 14, 1961, at 42 (noting issuance of a descriptive catalog covering all Scribner trade publications in print, including the Scribner Library).

PW, Mar. 19, 1962, at 52 (announcing the new Scribner First Editions series).

Scribners Introduces Lyceum Editions, PW, Dec. 4, 1967, at 32.

A New Scribner Paperback Series Gets Started in August, PW, Feb. 3, 1969, at 49.