31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #19 Nancy Drew Modern Collectibles to Collect

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #19

Nancy Drew Modern Collectibles to Collect

We've looked at Movie, TV and vintage/classic book collectibles. Now our last main category of collectibles is the modern collectibles and merchandise from the mid-80s to present day which focuses on the spinoff series like the Nancy Drew Files and then the modern series like Girl Detective and Diaries plus merchandise that has been created by companies in the last couple of decades focusing on both classic and the modern series and spinoffs - and of course what's coming out today.

I've spent quite a bit of time cataloging all of my collectible items and paper ephemera and most is up at my Pinterest page in various board categories. I even have a board of missing collectibles - the ones that got away that I missed or got outbid on at eBay. So check those out and see what there is to collect out there and what might inspire you to branch out in your collecting.

 

 

 

The earliest of this category of collectibles would be items related to the Nancy Drew Files series. I showcased some of the Notebooks/Clue Crew collectibles in the previous blogs on those books so won't repeat those here. For the Files, there was actually a planned clothing line River Heights Country Club but it was never produced. What we do have is mostly promo items and advertising items including booklets and bookmarks, cover flats, cover art, boxed sets and more. You can view what I have at this Pinterest board and I'll show a sampling of these items here.

 

 

 

Her Interactive, the company that makes the fun Nancy Drew Computer Games has created another set of collectibles since they debuted their first game in the late 1990s - the games, strategy guides, their own merchandise, and fun promo/marketing items and contest prizes which range from journals, cameras, bags, Koko Kringle bars and more. Visit their website to check out the games and merchandise.

 

 

When the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories (1-175) was discontinued in 2003, 2004 ushered in a new era of Nancy Drew collecting as we started to get more merchandising out of Simon & Schuster. They started pushing the brand more than they had previously, so we got quite a bit of merchandise in the last 14 years and they continue to get the brand out there as new companies come on board to license Nancy Drew. I won't go into the hoards of unlicensed merchandise that you can find online where people use Nancy Drew images to make jewelry/etc. - as that's illegal and those people are violating copyright/trademark laws. Several items a year S&S will go through some sites online and force the removal of products, as they should. My focus here will be on actual licensed/legal merchandise.

 

 

When Girl Detective debuted in 2004 there was a lot of publicity and marketing which resulted in a lot of promo items and then there have been some merchandising items related to this series--not many, most companies when they license tend to go toward classic Nancy Drew images, which sell better overall. Promo items include party bags, tees, sunglasses, press kits, posters, cover flats, advance review copies, a puzzle, games. For the Nancy Drew Diaries series, there are some advertising items and art prints from the cover illustrator Erin McGuire. For these 2 series, you can see some of these items here and others on the main Pinterest board -  but also check out the modern advertising board too for more and the cover art board.

 

 

 

 

 

In a previous posting, I went over promo items related to the graphic novels and comics so won't repeat those here.

The rest of the modern merchandise put out by licensee companies focuses on classic Nancy Drew books and images. There have been reprints - published by Applewood Books of the first 21 Nancy Drew books - they no longer print these but you can find them online or in the wild at bookstores. There were advertising items from Applewood Books including a neat poster which I have stored so don't have the image at Pinterest yet. Literarture, no longer in business, did neat reproduction dust jackets and posters - I don't have these at Pinterest yet. Other companies that have licensed include Andrews McMeel (calendars), American Greetings (ornament for 75th), Gumshoe Girls (jewelry, clothing, bags), Specialty Board Games (mystery party game), Mattel (Tangled Tales game), Chronicle Books (stationary), American Girl (mini Nancy Drew books to go with dolls), Rizzoli (calendar), Tonner Doll Company (doll), Poof-Slinky (puzzle), Jen's Ideas (clothing), Majesco (Nintendo games), Popcorn Posters (posters/magnets), THQ (Nintendo games), Book Bagz (book bags), Sutherland Games, LLC (The Nancy Drew Boardgame), and Moda Fabrics (Get A Clue Nancy Drew line of fabrics) - these companies no longer license Nancy Drew to create new products and most of these things are no longer available to purchase new but you can find them used/resold as new sometimes. You can see some of these things here -  and at my Nancy Drew website.

 

 

 

 

 

Current companies licensing Nancy Drew include Card.com (visa debit cards with Nancy Drew images on them), Out of Print Clothing (tees/bags), Her Interactive (computer games and merchandise), Alicia Klein (leather accessories), Litographs (tees, posters, totes, pillows, blankets), Paper Studio Press (paper dolls), Dynamite Comics (comics), Cobble Hill ( puzzles), and my company - Nancy Drew Sleuths (lots of goodies at our Sleuth Shop and Cafe Press shops, conventions, zine The Sleuth). There are other one-offs or interesting items like the Barnes &  Noble Old Attic Bags, special editions from Penguin like the Cookbook/Sleuth Book reprints and the Lost Files book, gifts books like the magnetic widsom set or the mini Running Press Nancy Drew Guide to Life, dollhouse books and other little one-off finds you'll see at my Pinterest board. You can see a lot of these items here and at my website here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit The Sleuth Shop and The Drewtique (our section for handcrafted wares from your fellow Sleuths) and then our Cafe Press Nancy Drew Shop.

What's on tap for the future? Her Interactive has a new game coming out - Midnight in Salem - this year. From another company, there's a game in the works but don't have much details on that yet and we all continue to produce new things. There are some other things on my modern collectibles Pinterest board which may or may not be licensed items or are sort of loosely tied because they play on the theme - like Nancy Brew items - the collectibles from this line of beer from Books N' Brews for instance so you'll see some variety on that board too like that.

 

 

 

I've pictured a sampling here - but there's a lot more, so check out the website links and Pinterest board links I've included to see it all. As always, if you have a collectible produced, used, marketed in the period from the mid-80s to present day that I don't have at Pinterest either in the link above or the missing ones board there,  please share it here and let me know what else we're missing out on! That's the fun of collecting, getting to sleuth for more things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the comments, tell me if you collect beyond the books and classic/vintage collectibles and like to acquire the various modern collectibles? Do you collect anything Nancy Drew or do you stick to a specific type? What is your favorite modern Nancy Drew collectible you own?