Notes on France's Revolt of the Angels

Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel and France's Revolt of the Angels were the first Modern Library titles published in September 1928, a time of transition in Moden Library binding and dust jacket design. The true first dust jackets of these titles had two thin stripes of color near the top and bottom, a style unique to these titles and used for only a month. The October style had half-inch wide bands and was used until 1939 (Toledano Dj Style 4). When the Modern Library settled on the final design of the new jacket, they probably rejacketed remaining copies of the two September titles.

Both books came in both styles of jacket, each with a fall 1928 list at the back of the book and the 150-title list on the inverse of the dust jacket. But the rare true first thin-band dust jackets will always carry a significant premium over the later issue jackets.


First copyright page text:      First Modern Library Edition

First binding style:    4 

First inverse DJ number:     [ none but 150 titles listed ]

First list entries:     Apuleius, Golden Ass, but not
                                 Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov                           

Dates in print:     1928 - 1937

Toledano number:     011.2


GT42

Confirmed buckram sighting?      no


Intro author:     Foreword by Creighton Gilber

Genre:     Novel

Original language:      French


Thanks to the contributors:

Henry Toledano Barry Neavill Pete Chocheles

E-mail a question or correction

Need help?