While the values of the dust-jacketed edition Nancy Drew books seem to have gone down, the values of most picture cover edition Nancy Drew books have increased dramatically. Many of the picture cover edition Nancy Drew books now sell for much higher prices than the values in Farah's Guide.
The first printing picture cover editions, which list to Fire Dragon on the back cover and to Dancing Puppet on the inside when an interior list is present, seem to be the exception. I do not find that these books necessarily sell for the values quoted in Farah's Guide, which range from around $15 to around $25. Sometimes the books do sell for the quoted values, but I have often seen them sell for less.
The average picture cover book from the 1960s that is not a first printing picture cover is valued at around $6 in Farah's Guide. I find that people will eagerly pay between $6 and $10 for these books. Many of the current collectors are more concerned with getting original text books from the 1960s rather than with getting the very first picture cover printing.
The first printing picture cover of #7, which is the only 1932 text printing in picture cover, is valued at $50. I suspect that the actual value for one in nice shape is quite a bit higher. Most copies of this book that surface are in rough shape. I have seen several of them sell at around $50 that are in rough shape, so one in nice shape should sell for $75 or more. The second printing picture cover of #7, which is the first printing of the 1962 text, is valued at $25. $25 is significantly higher than what the second printing picture cover book normally brings.
The first printing of #41 with the tri-fold ad is valued at $100. I have seen it sell for $25 up to around $130, or possibly a little higher. It is hard to nail down an exact value for this volume, so $100 is a good estimate.
The second printing of #41, which is just like the first printing except that it is missing the tri-fold ad, is valued at $25. I find that the second printing usually sells for no more than around $10. People want the tri-fold.
The "man with pipe" cover art of Broken Locket went through three printings. The first two printings have the 1934 text while the third printing has the 1965 text. Farah assigns the first and third printings a value of $50, and the second printing a value of $20. I find the "man with pipe" artwork to be no longer that difficult to find, and it seldom sells for anywhere near $50.
The third printing of the "man with pipe" cover art that has the 1965 text is
much more difficult to find than the other two printings. For that reason, if the first printing picture cover is actually worth the quoted $50, then the third printing should be worth much more. However, most people do not seem to be that interested in the 1965 text version except for advanced collectors, so perhaps the values of the first and third printings are about the same, and not anywhere near $50.
The first printing of #44 Crossword Cipher lists to Pine Hill and is valued at $30 in Farah's Guide. One recently sold for $104.72, and it is extremely hard to find, so I am confident that it is worth much more than $30. On a side note, I have a Crossword Cipher that lists to Pine Hill but has an interior list not mentioned in Farah's Guide. I'm not sure what I have, and others need to be careful about copies listing to Pine Hill until more is known.
The picture cover books from the 1970s are valued at $5 in Farah's Guide. Many sellers price these books below the current value when Farah's Guide is cited. I have sold many of these books for around $6 to $9. These books are now in demand due to the age of the current collectors.
The 1975 final cover art for #34 is somewhat scarce. The first printing of this art is valued at $9 in Farah's Guide. I sold one recently for $19.99, and it did not take long to sell.
The first printing of the 1976 cover art for #17 is valued at $15, and it seems to be a bit more scarce than the 1975 cover art to #34. For that reason, this book is probably worth more than $20. It comes up for sale quite infrequently.
The subsequent printings of the 1976 cover art to #17 and the 1975 cover art to #34 are valued at just $5 in Farah's Guide. I have sold copies of these printings of these two books for $6 to $10 each.
The first printing of #55 is valued at $25, and this is fairly accurate, although it sometimes sells for both higher and lower prices. The second printing of #55 is valued at $5, and it usually sells for $10 and up.
The first printing of #56, which lists Triple Hoax in plain text, is valued at $25. I have seen it sell for $35 to $55 numerous times. The second printing of #56, which lists Triple Hoax in italics, is valued at $12. It frequently sells for $25 to $35. The third printing of #56, which lists Old Clock as the next book, is valued at $5. It sells for $15 to $25, and occasionally higher. The printings of #56 with double oval endpapers are valued at $3, and I have seen them sell for $15 to $25.
All of the double oval endpapers picture covers from the early 1980s are valued at $3.00 each. I recently sold a lot of 40 picture covers with double oval endpapers for $250, which was the result of a bidding war. This averaged out to $6.25 per book, plus postage. While this was a high price, it does indicate that the books with double oval endpapers are likely now worth more than $3.00 each.
While the tweed books with dust jackets seem to have fallen in value, the picture cover editions have risen. The current buyers of Nancy Drew books apparently are more interested in buying the picture cover editions. While the printings with the original text from the 1960s are still more desirable, the printings from the 1970s with the revised text are now more in demand than they were a few years ago.
