This is some old news that I never wrote up. Early this year, two more examples of the Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding surfaced.
Back in January, a copy of Nancy Drew #1 The Secret of the Old Clock in the 1940s Style Library Binding surfaced on eBay. Fortunately, I saved a screen capture of the listing for whenever I felt like finally writing up a post. The book was listed as an auction with a starting bid price of $500. It closed at $580.
In April, collector Austin Stanley was very fortunate to find a copy of #3 The Bungalow Mystery in the 1940s Style Library Binding for $5.
This is my updated list of the known examples of this binding.
#1 two (mine and one sold on eBay in Jan. 2022)
#2 three (mine and two others)
#3 two (mine and one that surfaced in April 2022)
#4 one (mine)
#5 two (mine and one that I sold years ago)
#6 one (mine)
#7 one (mine)
#8 one (mine)
#9 one (owned by someone else)
#10 two (both owned by someone else)
#11 one (mine)
#13 one (owned by someone else)
#15 two (one that sold on eBay and another owned by someone else)
#16 two (both owned by someone else)
I have mentioned before how rare these books are, and the scarcity does warrant the use of the word "rare." Only 22 books ranging from #1 to #16 have surfaced in the 18 years that I have been aware of these books. Consider how many of the books have just one known copy. None of the books have more than three known copies. Only a small number of people have ever laid hands on one of these books. Most of the books known to exist are owned by just two people. I have nine books, and another person has eight books. Only five books are in the hands of others.
A recent post on Facebook saw another person proclaim that they must find these books. I can see where the value could climb even more. I hope someday that I stumble across a stack of the ones I still need. I live in hope.
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