The Final Original Text Printing of Nancy Drew #22 Crumbling Wall

I have purchased several bulk lots lately, including a near-complete set of Nancy Drew books.  I always go through the books, checking to see if any books are special printings or have anomalies.  I found one book of special interest that stood out.

A picture cover of Nancy Drew #22, The Clue in the Crumbling Wall, grabbed my attention because it had the original text and was quite thin.  I have written about how easy it is to tell at a glance whether a picture cover Nancy Drew book has the original text.  The lettering style on the spine is a key indicator.

Buyer Confusion on Nancy Drew #9

I could see immediately that Crumbling Wall had the original text, and I was struck by how thin the book was.  I believe it is the thinnest original text picture cover that I have ever seen.  I also thought that the tint was a little different from most other copies that I have.  I collect picture covers with tint variations, and original text Crumbling Wall is one of the titles with the greatest variation in tint.

I flipped through the book twice to make sure that pages weren't missing.  They were all there.  I examined everything about the book and everything tallied with what would be expected of an original text copy except for the book being so thin.  I knew that the book had to be from near the end of the run of the original text printings of Crumbling Wall and that it had been printed in the 1970s.

I first checked on the tint.

Here are my six original text copies of The Clue in the Crumbling Wall.  The first four copies (top row and first book on the left of the bottom row) are first picture cover books.  The large variance in tint in the first picture cover printing makes it apparent that the first picture cover printing was likely several printings.

The middle book in the bottom row lists to Spider Sapphire on the back cover.  Its tint is lighter than the first picture cover printings.  The last book in the bottom row is my new acquisition.  It has a slightly different lighter tint and lists to The Double Jinx Mystery followed by The Nancy Drew Cookbook.

Checking Farah's Guide verified my suspicion that this new acquisition is the very last printing of the original text.

Take a look at the spines of all six original text books, pictured in the same order as the above picture, followed by the first revised text printing.

Once I looked at the spines, I noticed the volume number.  The "22" on my new acquisition, second from the right, is in the same style as the "22" on the first printing of the revised text.  It's interesting that the volume number changed to the revised text style before the first printing of the revised text.  

"Crumbling" on the spine of my new acquisition wraps around slightly to the front cover of the book.  The book is too thin for the lettering style.  Also, the book is the same thickness as the first printing of the revised text.  The wraparound effect of "Crumbling" can be seen in the next photo of it along with the first printing of the revised text.

Both the last printing of the original text and the first printing of the revised text list to The Double Jinx Mystery followed by The Nancy Drew Cookbook on the back cover.  The two printings have several external characteristics in common, but the insides are completely different.