The Harvard Classics were originally called Dr. Eliots five foot shelf after then Harvard president Charles W. Eliot. They came to be after he publicly declared that anyone could obtain an education by reading for fifteen minutes a day from selected world literature. He made the bold statement that he could squeeze said literature on a three foot shelf. He later recanted and it turned into a five foot long, fifty-one volume set (fifty-two if you count the lecture volume that was later added ) that was first published in 1909-1910. The works included ranged from Plato to Dante to Longfellow and are truly a well balanced diet of pre-twentieth century readings. Many of these original sets are still in existence and other versions have been printed throughout the years. These sets vary wildly in quality and price. You can pick up the original first edition common set for as little as $300 or splurge for a more modern leatherbound set for several thousand.
The Harvard Classics