31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #17 Nancy Drew TV Show Collectibles

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #17

Nancy Drew TV Show Collectibles

There have been quite a few collectibles on the market and promo items from the various TV shows - most from the 1970s show. There are so many from the 70s show, however, I can't list them all here feasibly - so check out the Pinterest board links below to see all the fun things you can collect related to the TV shows. Collectibles for both the 70s Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys ranged from books, VHS to DVDs, press kits and  press photos, fan club materials, puzzles, scripts, advertising ephemera, posters, watches, shirts, dolls, lunchboxes, costumes, magazine articles, original art, and much more.

 

Where to find TV Show Collectibles? Your best bet is sites like eBay - I've found the majority of my items there over the years. However, you can sometimes find things out in the wild in bookstores or in antique malls or at autograph/TV star type conventions. It's always fun to hunt and I don't have everything related to these shows, so I'm always on the lookout. If you have something I don't that isn't shown on the 2 TV show Pinterest boards or on the missing collectibles board at Pinterest, please share it in the comments, as I'd love to learn about more that there is to collect out there.

Keep in mind, I don't have a lot of the stand alone Hardy Boys TV collectibles though I'm aware of most of them - I originally started collecting just Nancy Drew TV collectibles, but I've started recently to add more of the Hardy Boys collectibles - I have the lunchbox and dolls but haven't added them to Pinterest yet. So, I'm most interested in seeing what's out there in the Nancy Drew realm of TV collectibles that I don't already have.

 

 

 

1970s TV Show Collectibles:

The 70s TV shows were the most successful in length of run and publicity, so there are quite a few merchandising items and  promo/advertising items you can find for these shows. Even some controversial ones! When Pamela Sue Martin left the TV show, she posed in Playboy and was featured on the cover - "TV's Nancy Drew Undraped," it proclaimed and of course Harriet Adams at the Stratemeyer Syndicate, creators of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, was not a happy camper. The Syndicate even took out a very costly ad in Time Magazine against the Playboy issue and I've featured that in this blog - the ad features an apology of sorts from Playboy Magazine by reproducing the letter sent to the Syndicate and their attorney from Playboy's senior counsel, William H. Klein, apologizing for using the name Nancy Drew on the cover and in the July 1978 issue. It also references Playboy's use of Tom Swift in the March 1978 issue.

 

 

Another controversy surrounded the design of the Nancy Drew t-shirt that was produced for the 70s shows - no one to my knowledge has seen the shirt. But Harriet Adams disapproved and wrote the man merchandising these items, to express her dislike. The Hardy Boys shirt has been featured in advertising which you'll see below, but the Nancy Drew shirt was never pictured. If by chance you have seen the shirt or any advertising for it, let me know! And possibly the most scarce collectible is the TV show puzzles that came in a canister, not the boxes - I've pictured a set from the eBay auction--the only ones I've seen sell at eBay--and I'd love to have these for my collection. Second to that may be the TV show watch for the Nancy Drew show. The Hardy Boys watch has surfaced more regularly, but I've only seen the Nancy Drew watch listed at eBay one time. The Hardy Boys had more merchandising items than Nancy Drew, so there is no Nancy Drew TV show doll for instance, but there are Hardy Boys versions. There is even original art - the cover of the October 1977 issue of The Electric Company Magazine featured a cover painted by illustrator Bob Larkin, which I own. It's a great likeness of the actors in a very spooky scene. In cooperation with Bob, we sold a limited number of signed prints from this painting at our 2014 Nancy Drew Convention in San Diego. I also collect some of the TV show items from the Hardy Boys shows, so you'll see some of those at my Pinterest too. Having had Pamela Sue Martin and Parker Stevenson come to 2 of our Nancy Drew Conventions, members have been able to have some of their collectibles signed by them, but you can also find signed items from time to time at eBay and sometimes Parker appears at TV/movie conventions shows.

Scroll down below for the 1995 and 2002 TV show collectibles.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1995 TV Show Collectibles:

There are not a lot of collectibles for the 1995 TV shows. There was a cool cast/crew backpack which I'd love to acquire. A Phone card, press kits/photos. A Nelvana trade show bag that featured a tag with the various TV show logos including Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys which I found on eBay a few years ago. And books featuring the actresses on the covers in the Nancy Drew Files series. Books 112-119 featured covers related to the TV show. You can get the DVD set of the TV shows.

 

 

 

 

2002 TV Pilot Collectibles:

Since this series was never produced past the pilot that aired, there really isn't any merchandise or collectibles related to this show other than some press items. The pilot was sent out on video to press to review and I was given a copy of that, though I don't have it pictured at Pinterest yet. You might find press photos or articles related to the airing of the pilot. I managed to find a signed Maggie Lawson photo of her as Nancy Drew. There were some computer graphics available to download as wallpaper leading up to the show airing. If you have anything from the show's PR, that I don't have pictured at Pinterest, please share it!

In the comments, tell me if you collect any of the TV show collectibles? Do you focus more on the Nancy Drew or do you collect the Hardy Boys TV collectibles as well? Do you have a favorite collectible item?