Eliot retired as President of Harvard University in May 1909 and devoted much of the next twelve months to organizing the 50 volumes and selecting the list of included works. The first half of the included works was provided to P.F. Collier & Son in 1909. However, Eliot and Neilson did not make the remaining selections, write the introductions for each selection, or finish the general index until 1910. Consequently, P.F. Collier & Son printed volumes 1 to 25 in 1909 and volumes 26 to 50 in 1910. An adverstisement for The Harvard Classics was printed in "Collier's" on April 30, 1909, stating the "Complete Official Contents Now Ready." With the help from more than 50 Harvard professor and instructors and the general library of Harvard University and its department libraries, Eliot and Neilson believed the use of the title "The Harvard Classics" was well deserved.