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Juvenile Series Books plus Vintage Mysteries & Adventures
Life as a Bibliophile
I've been a
bookworm all
my life and
a book
collector
almost as
long. My
book
collection
began with
the classics
of Mark
Twain,
Robert Louis
Stevenson,
Sir Walter
Scott &
Alexandre
Dumas. I was
introduced
to series
books with a
gift from my
father --
The Hardy
Boys - The
Twisted
Claw: a
collection
which has
grown to
hundreds upon hundreds of
volumes of juvenile series.
As of 2008, my collection
includes over 5,000 pre-World War II books in original dustjackets -- about half
of these books are juvenile series books and the other half are popular fiction
including classic mysteries, adventure, early sci-fi & westerns.
Juvenile
series books
are my
favorites
particularly
Ken Holt,
Rick Brant,
Judy Bolton,
Tom Swift
and of
course the
Hardy Boys
and Nancy
Drew. Although, I
certainly
enjoy great
suspense-thrillers
from Sax
Rohmer,
Leslie Charteris
& Edgar Wallace.
There's
nothing like
the
thrilling
pages of The
Saint, James
Bond, Fu
Manchu,
Philo Vance
or even a
Sherlock
Holmes
tale.
Through eBay, I was able to complete many series started decades earlier as a youngster and finish off almost all of the Grosset & Dunlap juvenile series [both boys & girls] as well as amassing large quantities of titles by other publishers, most notably A. L. Burt and Cupples & Leon. My shelves are filled in: double & triple stacked with rows upon rows of juvenile series including not only complete sets in dustjacket of the most widely known series such as the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Tom Swift, but complete dustjacketed sets for many older series such as the Rover Boys, the Motor Boys, Frank Merriwell and Dave Porter. These sit alongside aviation series such as Andy Lane, Ted Scott & Rex Lee and adventure series such as the Radio Boys, Bomba & Don Sturdy plus dozens of girls series such as Judy Bolton, the Dana Girls, the Outdoor Girls, Ruth Fielding and many more.
Having such an extensive collection, it can be
particularly difficult to find the few missing elements. So, to keep
myself entertained, I've spent the last several years buying titles I already
own in an ongoing effort to upgrade to higher grade dustjackets and/or earlier
printings. Although at first glance, reviewing my eBay purchase history
may lead others to suspect that I may be a novice collector, in actuality this
progressive acquisition strategy has allowed me to raise the bar ever higher
year after year as I constantly upgrade my books seeking the finest copies
known.
The Silver Screen & Old Time Radio
I also
happen to be
an avid enthusiast of Hollywood's Golden Era. Whether it's
enjoying classic silver screen performances or film noir movies, listening to
the many old time radio serials or collecting PhotoPlay
Editions, the good old days of American popular culture are something
that captivate and appeal to me much more than anything modern.
I particularly enjoy the old movie series such as:
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Movie Series |
Actors |
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Boston Blackie |
Chester Morris |
Numismatics
&
Philately
As a
youngster,
stamps were
my first
introduction
into the
world of
collecting,
soon
followed by
coins and
paper money.
The history,
geography
&
culture of
the world
were lessons
I learned
first from
stamps and
coins and
have
remembered
for a
lifetime. My
favorites
among stamps
include 19th
century U.S.
issues,
while among
coins my
love has
always been
Liberty
Seated
silver and
Liberty
Coronet gold
pieces from the Antebellum era.
I have done
an extensive
study of the
rare and
under-valued
Liberty
Seated
Dollars
series
(1840-73)
including
visits to
the
Smithsonian
and ANS to
compare
attributions
of die
varieties.
Many avidly
pursue the
vaunted
Morgan
Dollar
series
(1878-1921),
but few
realize that
the mintage
of this
series in
its first
year alone
exceeded the
entire 33
year mintage
of the
Liberty
Seated
series.
While others
pursue the
plentiful
Morgan
Dollars, my
interest
remains with
the
wonderful
classical
design of
Christian
Gobrecht’s
Civil War
era Liberty
Seated
Dollars.
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For early popular fiction, my preference has
been to collect the authors I enjoy the most.
Interestingly, most of the
popular fiction I've collected have been mysteries -- of which I've developed a
preference for British authors. I have been able to obtain complete
collections for several authors including Sax Rohmer, Rafael Sabatini and
Jeffery Farnol. Other mystery authors, particularly very prolific writers
such as J. S. Fletcher, E. Phillips Oppenheim and Edgar Wallace, have proven
more challenging as each of these three have written over 150 titles -- so to
have even half of their output of books in dustjackets has been a considerable
accomplishment.
I consider research and bibliographic investigation
a very important part of my collecting.
In addition to my primary research, I make it a point to correspond with other
bibliographers and offer my collector's perspective, editorial comments, and
dissection of the finer points of different editions and printings, as well as
sharing new discoveries of bibliographic interest that I come across. In
some cases, this has led to my becoming a de facto contributing editor, while in
others I have assumed that role on a more formal basis.
Occasionally, I write articles for collector fanzines, or give presentations at collector conventions. When time permits, I enjoy participating in various online discussion groups ranging from several juvenile series groups to legendary authors such as Dumas, Verne, Twain & Dickens.
Stratemeyer Syndicate
As an avid researcher, I've compiled data on
many of the Stratemeyer Syndicate series including sales records for each series
by title for each year of printing. To date, this data is still
in preparation and as yet unpublished. However, it provides me a very keen perspective on which
titles are indeed rarer than others -- as I can look and compare how many copies
of any particular title were sold in any particular year.
The sales records for the series books were tabulated
twice yearly, and later quarterly, for the different series. Using
for example the Nancy Drew series, the records will show how many copies of Old
Clock, Hidden Staircase and Bungalow Mystery were sold from Jan to June of 1930,
then there will be another set of records showing how many were sold from July
to Dec of 1930. Likewise, for the Hardy Boys series, the records will show
how many copies of Tower Treasure, House on the Cliff and Secret of the Old Mill
were sold from Jan to June of 1927, and then again for July to Dec of 1927.
Of course, the question comes up if it would be possible to do a one-to-one
match of how many of each printing in the guide were sold. Obviously, this is
not possible since, due to their popularity, the titles would be issued more
than twice a year.
Understanding Rarity
What is possible is to make relative comparisons with a few reasonable
assumptions. That is, for example, if 10,000 copies were sold for one title in
1930, while 20,000 copies were sold of another title in 1930 (assuming the
survival rate is not particular of one title vs. another) -- then, in this case,
the first title should be twice as rare as the second title.
This, I feel, is where the data proves most useful -- in providing a more
meaningful scale when we weigh the scarcity (or rarity) of one title against
another. For years, collectors -- and even more so, dealers -- have been making
claims about rarity. By looking at the sales records themselves, we can have
solid numbers to look at. We may not be able to match up and compare printing by
printing, however we do have factual data to look at, rather than to rely on
mere speculation.
By definition, rarity is something that is seldom found.
Be very wary of sellers using this term too liberally -- often it is merely a
marketing keyword and has little basis in fact. If a particular edition of
a book title can be regularly found advertised for sale online more than once a
month, it would be very dubious to consider it as rare. Be careful to
weigh rarity versus collectibility. Just because a book may be rare does
not mean that it is collectible (or has collectible value) and conversely, just
because a book is collectible (or has collectible value) does not mean that that
particular book is rare. This perspective can be applied across a wide
spectrum of collectibles.
Universal Rarity Scale
To understand rarity a bit more clearly, let me share a bit more using the
Universal Rarity Scale proposed by noted numismatics author and dealer, Q. David
Bowers as published in The Numismatist (June 1992) [please
note that all good researchers quote their sources !!]
| Universal Rarity Scale Index |
Quantity Known to Exist |
|
URS 0 URS 1 URS 2 URS 3 URS 4 URS 5 URS 6 URS 7 URS 8 URS 9 URS 10 URS 11 URS 12 URS 13 URS 14 URS 15 URS 16 URS 17 URS 18 URS 19 URS 20 |
None |
So when a dealer "claims" that a particular book or collectible is rare -- ask them what the rarity index is and see what kind of blank stare you get ! As a follow-up, ask them if they can show documentary proof of that rarity. In most cases, this is impossible or nearly so -- but at least it will make them think twice about how subjective and unsubstantiated their claims are.
Stop the First Edition Madness
One of my goals over the years has been to help stop the endless misidentified
first edition book listings on eBay. I often spend several hours a week
contacting eBay sellers to explain to them why their book is not a 1st edition.
Unfortunately, there are endless examples of this appearing for sale week after
week, and no one person could handle the task. Sometimes I get a positive
response, sometimes I don't -- hopefully I can help buyers & sellers alike avoid
these many cases of mistaken identity.
Caveat Emptor -- Top 10 Misidentified First
Editions (Pre-1940 Popular Fiction)
As a longtime collector of many decades, please heed my advise and be sure to
check very carefully before buying any of these titles advertised as first
editions. Remember that, with vintage books, you cannot rely solely upon
the copyright date and notice to determine when a book was printed. There
are additional factors which must be considered including any publisher
advertisements before or after the text, additional publisher imprints on the
title page or binding, as well as the critical information printed on the
dustjacket.
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart.
- Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- The Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini
- The Benson Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine
- King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy
- The Hound of the Baskervilles by A. Conan Doyle
- The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
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