Perry Pierce Mystery Stories for Boys Clinton W. Locke

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The Perry Pierce Mystery Stories for Boys Series is a four volume series from the 1930s.  The books were written by Leslie McFarlane and Walter Karig under the pseudonym of Clinton W. Locke.  McFarlane wrote volume 1, and Karig wrote the remaining three volumes.  McFarlane is best known as the writer of the early Hardy Boys books, and Karig is best known as the writer of three of the early Nancy Drew books.

List of Titles:

1.  Who Closed the Door, 1931
2.  Who Opened the Safe, 1931
3.  Who Hid the Key, 1932
4.  Who Took the Papers, 1934

Formats:

The first three books were originally published by Altemus in hardcover with dust jacket.  These three books were also later reprinted by Donohue and Goldsmith.  Volume 4 was originally published by Donohue and was later reprinted by Goldsmith.

The Altemus and Donohue editions have good quality paper, decorated endpapers, a glossy frontispiece illustration, and three glossy internal illustrations.  The Goldsmith books have poor quality paper that has usually turned brown, plain endpapers, and no illustrations.

Prices:

The Altemus editions are the most scarce and sell for the highest prices.  The Donohue editions are also quite desirable since they also have the four glossy illustrations.  The Goldsmith books usually sell for low prices.

I am not listing specific prices since prices are constantly changing based on supply and demand.  If I were to give prices, they would soon be outdated and meaningless.  Just keep in mind that the Altemus books are worth the most, followed by the Donohue books, and then the Goldsmith books.

For more information about the Perry Pierce series, please visit my website.