31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #5 Nancy Drew Library Editions - A Brief Overview

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #5

Nancy Drew Library Editions - A Brief Overview

Since 1930, there have been various library bound editions of the classic 1-56 Nancy Drew books - my brief focus for this post. There are also a lot of library bound editions of books post-classic 56 too and some of you may collect those. I have a section on Nancy Drew library editions which I've not updated in ages, but you can see some images there of the various types I've nicknamed like the Twisted Candles editions for instance - these feature an image of Nancy from Twisted Candles on the covers of each book - so check this section out and see what you've been missing out on! 

My interest in library editions goes back to my elementary school library which had a lot of library editions of Nancy Drew and I checked out a lot of those, so they have special nostalgia for me. They often come in very used and even grubby condition with all the markings of use and library markings plus envelopes and cards to check out/etc. Finding them minty is great, but not something I strive for due to the nature of these bindings and their heavy use. I like seeing checkout history on the cards if they're still inside the books. I'm always upgrading though, so if I find one in better shape, I'll upgrade. At one point in time I had a lot more library editions, but I culled out some due to space and got rid of grubbier ones in the hopes of finding better ones at some point. Some of the images here in this post show the library editions on my shelves and closer views of shelves.

There are collectors who don't enjoy these as much and do not collect them. Or some collectors do collect them, but prefer to find them mint and unused and you can from time to time. Jennifer White's series books website also features Nancy Drew and other series book library editions and you can see editions I don't have on my site at hers as well.

There are a lot of different types of editions and I won't go into all of them in this posting - so check out the website links above to both of our sites for a full overview and more sections on types not featured here.

But here in this posting, I do want to highlight several types that you can find regularly and fairly easily at sites like eBay - I think Jennifer also has some listed for sale too right now. These types seem to come up pretty frequently or fairly often at eBay in addition to flashlight image library editions which I don't feature here:

Grosset & Dunlap PC Library Editions

These are the official library editions of the classic Nancy Drew - at least in the picture cover style - and have lavender spines and back covers - the back cover features a library bound logo. I prefer to find them unused but have a mixture of used/unused in my collection. Books 1-55 come in this format with lavender. #56 exists but is hard to find - features a yellow spine/back. I'd love to acquire one of these for my collection if anyone has any extras to sell!

Twisted Candles Library Editions

I've nickname them Twisted Candles editions because of the cover image on all books. These often show up with pink boards but I have seen them in blue, green and golden yellow too.

 

Magnifying Glass Library Editions

These feature a large image on the back covers of a magnifying glass with images of Nancy inside it.

 

Green APC Library Editions

One of my favorites are these green editions - featuring images of the cover art and sometimes internal illustrations on the covers of these editions.

 

Crossword Cipher Library Editions

I nickname these as such because on back of them they feature the image of Nancy from Crossword Cipher. These were the kind I remember reading in my school library! So they are favorite due to nostalgia.

 

Multi Scene Library Editions

Nicknamed due to the many scenes on the covers like the multi scene endpapers used in the regular books. These come in various colors including green, yellow, blue.

 

Special Editions Library Editions

Some of the special edition Nancy Drew books - like the Cookbook and Sleuth Book have library editions of them  - the G&D PC format and others.

 

Other Library Editions

There are various other types - some from the early 40s which are very neat - see Jennifer's site for images, I don't have any like this. Books bound with geometric patterns, and other misc. ones with images from Velvet Mask on the cover, a large image of Nancy's face and ones with the flashlight picture cover images on them. 

In the comments, let me know - do you collect library editions? Do you plan to start now that you've seen how neat they are? Do you have any special library editions that you like for a particular reason? Did you read library editions as a kid from the local or school libraries?  

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #4 Nancy Drew Special Book Club Editions

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #4
 

Nancy Drew Special Book Club Editions - A Brief Overview

There were 4 kinds of book club editions issued for the classic Nancy Drew books.

1. Nancy Drew Readers' Club - "Cameo Editions"

Collectors refer to these as the Cameo Editions because of the cameo image of Nancy Drew. There were 12 of these issued in 2 sets in 1959 and 1960 by Doubleday. They were illustrated by Polly Bolian. They were larger sized hardcovers than the regular books and inside had sets of full page illustrations in black and white and the frontispiece illustration before the story begins is in color and replicated the image on the front of the dust jacket

Volumes in the set include #1 The Secret of the Old Clock, #2 The Hidden Staircase, #27 The Secret of the Wooden Lady, #28 The Clue of the Black Keys, #29 The Mystery at the Ski Jump, #30 The Clue of the Velvet Mask, #31 The Ringmaster's Secret, #32 The Scarlet Slipper Mystery, #33 The Witch Tree Symbol, #34 The Hidden Window Mystery, #35 The Haunted Showboat and #36 The Secret of the Golden Pavilion.

 

 

The endpapers featured a brightly colored ribbon design - Wooden Lady comes with two different colored ribbons (purple and turquoise).

View the illustrations and internals at my website.

Interesting to note - the poster advertisement for the club has art designed by Rudy Nappi, however they did not choose Nappi to illustrate these editions. I have been adding images to my Pinterest of various collectibles and have a board just for book club editions to showcase the advertising that went along with them and you can see everything here.

2. Nancy Drew's Inner Circle - Yellow Spine Picture Cover Book Club Editions

Books 1-32 were issued as book club editions, by Grolier - the back covers are all blank - no lists of books and no volume number on the spines. Sometimes you find them where someone has written the volume number on the spine. There was a membership card that was sent out to those who joined the club which I managed to acquire because it was inside my book club edition of Scarlet Slipper when I purchased it. Later I found TV Guides that featured the club advertisement and it all came full circle. I like piecing together the advertising and production history behind these books.

 

 

3. Nancy Drew Twin Thriller Book Club

Books 1-54 were issued in this set with 2 volumes in each book. The only original text to make it into print was #13, The Mystery of the Ivory Charm, the rest are revised versions of 1-12 and 14-34 and then the one text of 35-54. The club was sponsored by Parents' Magazine and I've managed to acquire a few magazines featuring the ads for this club as well as other publications it ran in like Children's Digest and Young Miss in the mid-late 1970s. I even purchased a charm at eBay thanks to @jim who spotted it - an Official Twin Thriller Mystery Charm - I can't say with 100% certainty that it was related to this club but being a magnifying glass and using the same name, I think it must have been part of the promotion at some point. A Google search uncovers no other clues. If anyone has further clues on this charm, would love more details. Also issued in this format was a taller version of the first 8 books in the set - the taller versions have a different numbering system on the back cover - the tall ones have 11 beginning the number sequence, the shorter ones start with 10.    

 

4. Nancy Drew HC/DJ Book Club Editions 

The first 3 books were issued in hardcover - a mustard yellow - with dust jackets featuring yellow spines and the current 3rd Nappi art at the time these were published. Noted inside as being book club editions. And also, Wanderers - 57-59: The Triple Hoax, The Flying Saucer Mystery, and The Secret in the Old Lace were also printed as book club editions.

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I loved finding the books in these sets but the behind the scenes advertising and club materials are much more fun to find and piece the puzzle together of when/where/how these were advertised.

Where do I find book club editions? You can find them easily at eBay - don't be shy, jump right in and begin that book club collection :) You can check other sites like Etsy and your local used bookstores/antique malls too. I often see the twin thrillers out in the wild more than any of the others. Of the Cameos some of the volumes can be harder to find and often you will find them without dust jackets too but at least they have the color frontispiece. One way to spot the yellow spine book clubs online is if the spines don't have volume numbers for 1-30 or the back cover is shown and is totally solid yellow/no printing, then you'll know what they are.

In the comments, let me know, do you collect the book club editions? If not, have I inspired you to start? Which book club editions are your favorite kind? Do you have any book club memorabilia like the posters or advertising items. If you have something I don't have have on my Pinterest board for the book clubs - please share as I'm always looking to see more varied styles of ads and looking for something that mentions that charm.

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #3 Nancy Drew Cover Art & Illustrators - A Brief Overview

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #3

Nancy Drew Cover Art & Illustrators - A Brief Overview

At my website I have a section in the books/formats area on the the cover art, so you will find this link helpful.

Referring to the classic Grosset & Dunlap Nancy Drew books - 1-56 published from 1930 to 1979 - there are 3 illustrators of the cover art - Russell H. Tandy, Bill Gillies and Rudy Nappi. Shown here are the 3 covers for Old Clock by these 3 illustrators.

Tandy illustrated the books from 1930 to 1949 - doing covers and internal illustrations for books 1-26, with the exception of the cover of Broken Locket - and James D. Keeline has a page at his website about this - it was likely artist Norman Braley who illustrated covers for other series books at the time including some Outdoor Girls covers. Many have theories, but he's the most likely candidate considering all factors involved. I have a website section about Tandy and other books he illustrated in addition to Nancy Drew as well.

Tandy's muse for the series was a model named Grace Horton and we have a nice article about her in the March/April 2014 issue of The Sleuth and an article with lots of neat pictures from Geoffrey Lapin on Tandy in the May/June 2012 issue of The Sleuth.

 

Bill Gillies was brought in to illustrate books 27-29 and he also redid covers to 1-9 and 11 which came out in 1950. Why not #10? Well we think he did illustrate #10, The Password to Larkspur Lane, but it was likely rejected and then used by UK publisher Sampson & Low. The reason is likely the position of Nancy's skirt and her thigh showing. Lea Fox has some good evidence on her website about this likely being a Bill Gillies cover.

Rudy Nappi was the final illustrator of the classic books and he came in beginning in 1953 with #30, The Clue of the Velvet Mask and illustrated 30-56 but he also revised art for books 1-5 and 8-34 as well. Some of these books have 2 to 3 Nappi covers overall. You can see the various covers in this classic Nancy Drew books section at my website. The website page on cover art has a chart showing you which cover is by which artist for the 56 books which is handy.

Here's a quick breakdown:

First Cover art 1-10, 12-26=Tandy
First Cover art 11=Most likely Norman Braley
2nd Cover art 1-9, 11=Gillies
2nd Cover art 10, 12-26=Nappi
1st Cover art 27-29=Gillies
2nd Cover art 27-29=Nappi
1st cover art 30-34=Nappi
2nd Cover art 30-34=Nappi
3rd Cover art 1-5, 8-24=Nappi
4th Cover art 11=Nappi
Only 1 Cover art 35-56=Nappi

What covers are currently in print today? They are all Nappi covers that Penguin still reprints - with the exception of books 6 and 7 which are Bill Gillies covers - Nappi never revised these covers.

What art comes in what format?

White spine dust jackets - 1-22=Tandy 1st art

Wrap spine dust jackets - 1-9 and 11=2nd art by Bill Gillies

Wrap spine dust jackets 23-26 = Tandy 1st art; 27-29 = Gillies 1st art; 30-34 = Nappi 1st art; 35-38 = Nappi only cover art

Yellow spine picture covers: 1-9 - 2nd cover art by Gillies. 10 - 2nd art by Nappi.  1-11 - 3rd art by Nappi. 11 - 4th art by Nappi. 12-26 - 2nd art by Nappi. 27-29 - 1st art by Gillies. 27-29 - 2nd art by Nappi. 30-34 - 1st & 2nd art by Nappi. 35-56 - Only cover art by Nappi.

Can I buy original series book art? Sure, if you can find it. Quite a few collectors do love and collect the series book art. Recently, a Russell H. Tandy cover for The Secret in the Old Attic, sold at auction for $35,000.00 which included the buyer's premium. I would love to see more Tandy art surface - The Secret of the Old Clock, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Sign of the Twisted Candles are especially known to be floating out there - so hopefully they will turn up, among others, one day.

In the comments, let me know if you have a favorite illustrator or favorite cover art? Do you judge a book by its cover? Is there a book you like the story for but don't care for the cover art?

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #2 - Original vs. Revised Text Nancy Drews

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #2 - Original vs. Revised Text Nancy Drews.

This is something that pops up a lot among new collectors and even more seasoned collectors, so there is something to learn here for everyone. At my website I have a section in the books/formats area on the texts and also I wrote for the 75th anniversary an article about the revisions - and I compare Old Clock original and revised and show you all the changes and discuss those, so you will find these links helpful too.

Referring to the classic Nancy Drew books - 1-56 published from 1930 to 1979 and what's still in print today, remember, only the first 34 books were revised. Books 35-56 only have one text version. 

How do I know what I have? Look at the copyright date - if it's from 1930-1956, it's original. But easier, is to just check the chapter count too - if it has 25 chapters, it's the original version. If 20 chapters, it's the revised version. Some books, you can tell by the cover art what's in there too if you know when a book was revised and when the art was changed to a later version, but that knowledge comes with time and research. So, a quick easy way is just to check the chapter count or copyright date.

Why were the books revised? Financial reasons - and this is all accounted for in the Stratemeyer Syndicate archives at the New York Public Library. It was cheaper to produce a 180-page or so book than one over 200 pages like the originals were. This was the main reason the books were revised--that and the switch to a different type of printing plate also led the charge to change--as plates were wearing out they were replaced with the new style--one reason some of the books were not revised completely in order of 1-34. As a consequence of the revisions process, ethnic and racial stereotypes and prejudices were removed and the texts were modernized with outdated language and slang being removed. It was felt that new generations of “TV watchers” had less of an attention span than previous generations of readers, so the pace of the books was quickened too in the revising process - so lots of descriptive passages from originals were removed to make action sequences faster and things like that.

What's the deal with exploding oranges in Moss-Covered Mansion, this isn't in the original?! A big example of a drastic change from original to revised - some of the stories got all new plots or plots were changed up quite a bit from the original. These are Hidden Staircase, Lilac Inn, Shadow Ranch, Broken Locket, Hollow Oak, Whispering Statue, Brass-Bound Trunk, and Moss-Covered Mansion.

How substantial were the revisions? Past Moss-Covered Mansion, vast  parts of these books were kept, not changed, just stuff cut out when revised.  For books 1-18 it varies, for the ones that were not all new plots for the most part or all new stories - if you read them side by side or OT and then RT, you'll see that a lot of the original story--complete paragraphs, whole sentences and things like that are still in the revised versions, so the bulk of the revision is still from the original. I began a project to highlight inside the revised version of an original all words/phrases/paragraphs/etc. that appear in the original and it's quite a bit when you do this kind of analysis.

What's currently in print? Penguin still reprints the classic 1-56 and they only reprint the revised versions of books 1-34. Applewood Books used to do reprints of the originals, but they no longer do, but you can find copies. If you want to read an original version, you can source them via local used book stores, antique malls, online sites like eBay and Etsy or even at Facebook where people sell their books or in selling groups, you can find inexpensive reading copies if you just want to read the text and do not care about printings or whether it's got a dust jacket/etc.

Can I get a full set of originals in the yellow spine picture cover format? No, this format didn't come out until 1961/1962, and the books began to be revised in 1959, so these books cannot be found in the original version in the YSPC format - Old Clock, Hidden Staircase, Bungalow Mystery, Lilac Inn, & Red Gate Farm. The only format where you can get a full set of all original text books is the blue tweed books if you want a uniform set.

Which is better, original or revised? Most fans tend to prefer the original once they read and compare the versions - the originals were often better written or the flow of events and dialogue mixed with descriptions of the setting and events going on, made for a much better cohesive read. They are more timeless. I grew up on the revised versions so they are nostalgic to me as well. So, I like them all but prefer the originals as to overall quality. I have found where some revised versions where there were huge changes in plot - I like the story better or feel the plot was more interesting overall - like Lilac Inn or Shadow Ranch for instance.

In the comments, let us know what you prefer better - original or revised? And of those stories revised with very new or mostly new plots, which do you prefer - the original or the revised new plot?

31 Days of Nancy Drew #1 - Collecting the Books & Formats 101

31 DAYS OF NANCY DREW #1 - A brief overview of What is it, what's it worth? Nancy Drew Book Formats 101. 

I have a section on my Nancy Drew website which breaks down the formats, art, and texts of the various Nancy Drew books over the decades - the classic Nancy Drew books 1-56 - between 1930 and 1979. I've got a few screen captures here to also highlight these. And a couple of the charts/checklists from the website. As you can see there are a lot of styles and formats these books went through from the boards to the dust jackets to the endpapers (images inside the covers). There were cover art changes, illustration changes inside, text changes (for the first 34 but that's a topic for another post!) These images will help you gauge what decade your book is from for the most part which will help you date it. If you have dust jackets - the last listed Nancy Drew title and other series titles as a general rule will give you an idea of what year approx. give or take, it may have been printed. If your book has lists pre-text (not copyright page lists--don't go by those) or post-text ads - as a general rule you can narrow down close to a printing year but there are exceptions to that. What's it worth? What you're willing to pay. Collecting has changed over time. You can search sites like eBay to see how things are selling and get an idea of value as to market value. But I think a lot of seasoned collectors will tell you, that it's worth what you're willing to pay, as a general rule. A first printing is going to be worth more than a later printing, but condition is also a factor--terrible condition doesn't equate to high value, it devalues. Even for scarce books. But the scarcity may make one be willing to sacrifice to acquire it and pay more. Every collector is unique and everyone has an idea of what they want and are willing to pay - so your collections will always be unique to you and that makes them special. Here are images to get you started but check out my website for more in-depth information on formats and collecting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy Drew Books: Scary Things Kids (& Adults) Do #119

After spending time vicariously adventuring to Canada with Nancy to brave the wild woods and find a hollow oak, some little taper was prescient - they knew the burlap/farmhouse look would soon be in style!