Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #16

When a listing is discovered that omits the necessary information, always scroll down to the end of the item description to see whether your question has already been asked. I found an auction in which the seller received four questions which asked about the last title listed on the front flap, among other things. The seller should be praised for answering the same question over and over again, while remaining polite.

1933 Nancy Drew Mystery SIGN OF THE TWISTED CANDLES D/J Item #140269471926

Question 1: What is the last nancy drew title listed on the dj flap?

Answer: The secret in the Old Attic. Thanks for your interest in this item.

Question 2: What is the last title on first flap of DJ?

Answer: The secret in the old attic. Thanks for your interest in this item.

Question 3: What is the last Nancy Drew book title on the front flap of the dust jacket? Is the lettering on the front of the book in blue or orange? Are the endpapers orange silhouettes? Thank you.

Answer: The Secret in the Old Attic, Orange Lettering on Front and Oranges Silhouettes. I also see nopw that someone has underlined 8 of the titles on the front flap of the dust jacket in red pen. Thanks for your interest in this item.

Question 4: I have a number of questions about the book: Design of the end papers The last book listed for each series on the inside and back of the dust jacket The number of (if any) glossy pictues Thanks for your time.

Answer: The end papers have Orange Silhouettes, The front dust jacket has THE SECRET IN THE OLD ATTIC listed last, the back cover dust jacket has THE PORTRAIT IN THE SAND Dana Girls Mystery Title. There are no glossy pictures Just one illustration on the 2nd page of the book. Thanks for your interest in this item.

In fairness to the questioners, three of the questions were answered on September 22, and all three questions may have been sent before the seller posted any answers. I have seen a few cases in which the same question was answered multiple times days apart, due to the questioners not bothering to look for answered questions.

The questions were necessary in order to determine the age of the book, since the seller's picture did not show more than the outside of the book. Even so, the seller's photo did reveal some important information.


Notice that the white spine of the dust jacket wraps around to the left part of the front of the book. During the 1930s, the white spines of the dust jackets were designed to be the exact width of the books. During the 1940s, the books became less thick, so the white spines were too wide for the the books. Since this dust jacket is too wide for the spine of the book, it is a 1940s book. As a result, we can rule out the possibility of the book containing glossy internal illustrations. Since the book is a less thick version, we can conclude that the book is from around 1942 through 1949 which means that it could have either a glossy frontispiece or a plain frontispiece illustration. By the seller's answers, we know that the book is from 1944.