Neatorama reader Jennifer told us about Read Print, a free online library where you can read classic works of authors (that are out of copyright).
The website is like Bartleby, another free online book source, but it's faster and with cleaner interface.
Link - Thanks Jennifer!
1. At this point I think they've got all the classics, plus lot of lesser known works from famous authors.
2. Gobs of stuff from minor authors.
3. Lots and lots of period non-fiction
4. These are all photographic scans directly from the original books. This means that original typography, illustations, footnotes, indices, are all preserved.
5. Everything is savable as PDFs.
http://books.google.com/advanced_book_search
N.B. - To avoid getting samples of current books offered for sale, make sure to click "Full View Books" radio button.