Monthly Letter Inquiry

To a greater degree now than in the past, a factor in my buying an LEC book or in what to pay for it is whether or not the Monthly letter is included.
I have been very grateful to this group and its Google drive for providing copies of MLs I don't have. They really enhance the enjoyment of the book and place it into the context of when it was published. And i especially enjoy reading Macy's writing while he was doing them. Even if I have one of the group copies, I will still seek out an original if it comes up for sale on e-bay.
Having added some new shelves to the "library", I decided to check what LECs I had without MLs, real or copies. I'm setting the titles forth here. I'd be happy to buy an original if anyone has one he'd like to sell, But more importantly, I hope to encourage other devotees to provide them to the Group Google Drive.
An Almanac for Moderns '38
Salome '38
Treasure Island '41
Bacon's Essays '44 NOW On Drive
The Coverley Papers '45 Now On Drive
Tales of Hoffman '45

Baron Munchausen '52
The Rivals '53 Now On Drive

Thank you in advance. I'd also encourage others who are missing ML copies to post in this thread and maybe we'll make further progress toward completion.
As readers of the thread will know, William Tell '51 and Comus '54 are on the Drive but apparently not shown in the chronological listing; so they have been removed from list above.

I am ADDING to the list: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets '74 which I just recently acquired (2/21) Now On Drive
and The Notorious Jumping Frog '70
and The Flowering of New England'41
Further ADDITION: Roughing It '71 (2/22)

>1 laotzu225:

Sorry I have no spares of the ones on your list but will be happy to upload the ones I have which aren't in the Drive.

I do have some spare Monthly Letters, so PM me if you are needing:
The Frogs 1937
The True History of the Conquest of New Spain 1942
The Warden 1956
The Koran 1958
Pendennis 1961
Waverley 1961
St Augustine 1962
Kim 1962
The Spy 1963
Moliere Comedies 1963 (2 copies)
Tales by De Maupassant 1963
The Ambassadors 1963
Northanger Abbey 1971

To be fair to all, please no resellers. And you must have a copy of the volume if you want the ML. (Also, I realize it might seem biased, but preferential treatment will be given to longterm Devotees who post frequently.)

I still have 29 up on eBay. Now that I have probably recouped most of my nearly four-figure outlay on a big job lot I purchased just to knock a chunk off my wants list, I can offer any of the rest for even less to Devotees who PM me -- thereby saving themselves the tax eBay would otherwise collect, and me the commission (which helps my family, given that Covid has obliterated my freelance income).

>1 laotzu225: I know William Tell and Comus are on the Google Drive, among the "loose" MLs on the very bottom of the page. It's possible some of the others you're seeking are there as well.

>1 laotzu225: note: I just confirmed the William Tell, Baron Munchausen, and Comus MLs are already in the drive.

>4 AMindForeverVoyaging: >5 BionicJim:
Thank you both for writing. My "mistake" was looking at the table of files arranged by year instead of trying the search feature. I can confirm and have copied William Tell and Comus.
However, Jim, the Baron Munchausen ML is for the 1929 version and not the 1952 publication. So, I'm still looking for that.

While writing on this, I also want to thank whoever suggested using Southworth Ivory 24 pound paper to copy these on. Much closer in color to the original and heftier.

I have edited >1 laotzu225: to add Salome '38, which is also missing from the drive and from my collection..

I'm returning to this thread to again see if anyone can supply Monthly Letters not only to me but to the invaluable Google Drive. I've made some edits to the initial post to reflect the current standing of ML copies.
Of course there are other missing MLs; I just don't have books yet that need them.
I did just acquire Steven Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets 1974. The book, which was in very good condition came however without slipcase or ML. The several others on eBay were not expensive. In my estimation this is one of the least impressive LECs. The exterior is attractive but the typography and art are-in my opinion-ugly. However, having the ML would be an advantage.
So as not to appear selfish, I have the ML for de Maupassant's Tales '63 (courtesy of Django6924!) and will endeavor to get it uploaded to the Drive.

>8 laotzu225: I've added the ML for Maupassant's Tales to the ML Upload folder.

>9 BionicJim: Thank you, Jim!
One more on the Drive!
But wait! I got a good deal on eBay from a seller who does not appear to be primarily a book dealer and was auctioning an LEC book. As it happened, I was the only bidder and got a near fine copy in a VG slipcase (a few spots) for $35 plus s & t. The Notorious Jumping Frog and other Stories by Mark Twain '70
Sadly, it did not come with a Monthly Letter so I am adding it to my request list.
Remember, anyone who has one, it is for "the sake of the trust", as was said in "The Musgrave Ritual".

Hello, could anyone upload the Monthly Letter for The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar? I have access to the Google Drive folder. Thank you!

>11 Lukas1990:

One I would like to see as well!

>11 Lukas1990: I do have this ML. Unfortunately, the previous owner tipped it into the back of the book. But I will see about scanning it.

>13 AMindForeverVoyaging: Thank you very much! I will probably buy this book and would like to read more about it.

>14 Lukas1990: I have scanned the Gallic Wars ML into PDFs but do not have upload privileges. I would be happy to email them to someone who does, unless someone could grant me access.

>15 AMindForeverVoyaging: I think the admin of the drive is LT user ironjaw. Maybe you could contact him and he could grant you upload privileges. There may be other possibilities too. Let's hear from the veterans.

>15 AMindForeverVoyaging: Please send me a private message with your email and I will grant you access.

>17 BuzzBuzzard: Thank you for your assistance! The Gallic Wars ML has now been added to the Google Drive.

Can anyone upload the 1931 The Marble Faun ML? This is a beautiful set of two small volumes and I would like to have more information about it.

Thanks in advance!

>19 BionicJim:

My set doesn't have the ML, but it is reproduced in The First Twenty-five Monthly Letters. I will scan it today.

I uploaded my scan of the Marble Faun ML to Google drive. Here is a link to it, so hopefully someone with edit privileges to the ML drive can add it:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YCXEXNGU3KzE44U85vt0bFNdP2XrWutq/view?usp=shari...

Thanks so much! I really wish I could find a copy of this great resource for a reasonable price. I’ve not seen a copy of “The first 50...” selling for under $200 so I’m very appreciative of those of you on this forum for making the MLs available.

>22 BionicJim:

It is a beautiful book, and probably the only way the majority of us would ever see these letters.

>22 BionicJim: I bought my copy back in 2013 and it indeed cost well over $200 but it's really worth it if one collects the early LECs. It is much harder to find copies of the earliest LECs with either a slipcase or a Monthly letter. Since I make my own slipcases and own a copy of the Monthly Letters book from 1987, I was able to acquire the first 50 titles for pretty good prices. The book easily paid for itself.

>24 kdweber:
You nearly had me buying a copy tonight, but it was 275 USD with shipping across the pond and I ended up thinking I’d rather spend that on the LEC Vanity Fair or Brothers Karamazov or Main Street...

>25 GusLogan: A difficult choice, but I think I agree with you. The early Brothers Karamazov with King's illustrations is my favorite of the books illustrated by him (not a big fan of his illustrations for Guliver's Travels). Main Street is, in my opinion, the best-illustrated book in the LEC canon: not necessarily the best-bound and not my favorite work of literature, but I can't think of any book in the Macy era that was better-illustrated.

I want to buy the monthly letters for LEC- Brothers Karamazov (the later 2nd edition), and LEC - War of the Worlds / Time Machine

In the absence of a First Fifty MLs thread I’ll ask here if I have correctly understood that collection to lack (somewhat negatively phrased!) the MLs for the 1933 Don Quixote and Aesop’s Fables, as the first four MLs are pre-Gulliver’s Travels, setting-up-the-club stuff? Ie it’s therefore the MLs for the first, err, 46 publications? Makes perfect sense if so, wouldn’t want to miss those first four.

I have discovered I do not have the Monthly Letter for The Flowering of New England by Van Wyke Brooks (1941) nor is there a copy on the drive.
Does anyone have the ML?
This is really a lovely book and especially resonates with someone, like me, who grew up in Boston.
In my original post in this thread I've listed a number of missing MLs from the drive. I'd appreciate fellow devotees to check that post and provide a copy to the Google Drive for everyone's benefit. (I'm adding "Flowering" to the #1 post so it will represent the current state.
On the positive side I have just purchased a few odd MLs on eBay and at least one of them is not on the Drive and I will get that added.

I'm posting here that there are two additions to the Google drive of Monthly Letters, thanks to a generous donor (I am not sure he wants to be acknowledged so I am not mentioning his name but he can come forward if he wishes.)
They are The Master of Ballantrae -1965
and
Mademoiselle de Maupin - 1943
(There was a partial copy of the ML on the drive in separate page sections but there now is a complete ML for downloading.) I thank BionicJim for his help in getting them uploaded.
Meanwhile, I have just obtained a very nice copy of Roughing It -1971 I was able to buy at an eBay auction held by a seller who does not deal primarily in books at a great price. However, it did not come with a Monthly Letter so I'm now asking of anyone has one either to sell (in which case I'll add the copy here) or to contribute a copy to the Drive collection.
Please see my original post in this thread for others I am hoping to locate for myself and the group.

>30 laotzu225: I have the ML of 'Roughing It'. Will share it with you and also submit it for the google drive. May take a few days though since I need some time to find the book.

>31 blue.eyes2: Thanks. Very much appreciated!

Following up on still missing Monthly Letters, in hope we can all benefit, here are one I do not have and which do not appear to be on the Google Drive:
An Almanac for Moderns '38
Salome '38
Treasure Island '41
The Flowering of New England'41
Tales of Hoffman '45
Baron Munchausen '52 (someone did attempt to upload two pages)
The Notorious Jumping Frog '70

Roughing It '71 (there is a file listed but it is empty.)

>33 laotzu225: Hi there. I've just stumbled upon this thread and wonder whether the Google Drive you mention is generally accessible as I would love to be able to see a copy of the ML for the Jan van Krimpen two-volume Odyssey and Iliad. If not public-accessible, would it still be possible to somehow get to see that ML scan, please? I have the books but no letter and would really like to be able to at least read it.

>34 ChestnutPress: What year was that?
Never mind. 1931. sheesh. Only the ML for the Iliad has been uploaded so far.

>34 ChestnutPress: Ironjaw is the person who can teach you the secret handshake for the shared drive. https://www.librarything.com/profile/ironjaw

>35 Glacierman: Cheers

>36 maisiedotes: Many thanks!

>36 maisiedotes: I love the Masonic reference, maisie.