 With financial backing from Horace Liveright's father-in-law, paper executive Herman Elsas, the two partners Boni and Horace Liveright incorporated the publishing house Boni & Liveright on February 16, 1917.Boni & Liveright founded the Modern Library (originally called "Modern Library of the World's Best Classics"), which was eventually acquired by Random House.The Modern Library was financed by $25,000 from Felix M. Warburg and the Boni brothers' uncle Thomas Seltzer.