A Thick Judy Bolton Library Edition and Thoughts on Value

I was excited to find an online listing for a thick copy of Judy Bolton #2 The Haunted Attic that has been rebound in a library binding.  

The book has all four glossy illustrations.  This is not the first printing book (no birthday mention on invitation).  

"5-15-2008" has been written in the upper right corner of the front free endpaper.  The date has been covered with correction fluid, although it can still be seen.  The book does not appear to be a library discard.  There are no library markings and no evidence of past library markings.  The book has very light wear.

I assume that the book was rebound in 2008, perhaps by somebody for their private collection.  It certainly does not appear to have been circulated.

I am kicking around the idea of writing up another blog post about the values of the different library editions.  I see some common misconceptions where collectors do not understand that some library editions have little value while some others have great value.  The style of the library binding, the series name, and the condition of the book are very important and can wildly swing the value either high or low.

A book like the one featured in this post is certainly worth what I paid for it, which was $20.26 including shipping and sales tax.  It could possibly be worth a bit more, maybe $35 or so.  

I place the value that high for three reasons. 

1.  The binding is very attractive and falls under the category of what I consider to be a "handsome binding."

2.  The book has very light wear.

3.  The book is thick with the glossy internal illustrations.  Thick books don't show up in library bindings very often.

If this were instead a Nancy Drew library edition with all of the same characteristics (very light wear, attractive binding, thick with internals), then the book probably would be worth $50 to $100 in the current market.  Judy Bolton library editions won't sell for as high of prices as Nancy Drew library editions.  The series makes a big difference.

If this same text block (thick with internals) were bound in a plain library binding, like the one seen below, the value would likely be only $10 to $15 at the most.  The binding makes a big difference as well.

The book seen in the above photo was rebound from a tweed edition.  I place its value at $5 or so.  The bottom line is that all library editions are not equal.

Here are all of the thick library editions that I own.

Answers to Library Edition Questions

One of the editors from Country Living Magazine asked me a series of questions about the Judy Bolton library editions in order to prepare for the article in which the Judy Bolton library editions were to be included.

I gave a large amount of information, since I wanted to make certain that they understood.  My biggest concern was whether they would grasp the actual values of the library editions.  They asked me about both the regular and library editions, which have completely different sets of values.  I was worried that they would apply the regular edition values or the values of the scarce titles to all library editions.  Fortunately, the article gave a flat value of $5 to $10 for the Judy Bolton library editions.

As I have done with other private communications, I have rewritten the questions that were asked of me in my own words.  My answers follow each question.

I assume that all 38 Judy Bolton books can be found in the patterned binding library edition but want to make certain that is correct.  I also assume that Grosset and Dunlap is responsible for printing the library editions.

I am pretty sure that all 38 titles are available, although I do not have all of them.

Grosset and Dunlap printed the books that were rebound into the library editions but was not responsible for the library bindings.  You will notice that no publisher name appears on the library binding itself, which is a sure sign that the publishing company was not responsible for the library bindings.

Regular editions that were printed by Grosset and Dunlap were at various times donated to libraries.  The regular editions do not hold up well under the constant use to which library books are subjected.  Therefore, many libraries chose to have the books rebound in special reinforced library bindings.

[The italicized words appeared in the article as "Many libraries rebound acquisitions in more durable boards."]

The library sent the donated books to one of the binderies, which then rebound the book for the library.  Most binderies used generic bindings, such as these types of patterns.  Sometimes, the binderies used plain bindings, which are less interesting.

Some of my library bindings have a sticker on the inside back front giving the name of the bindery which rebound the book.  These are some of the names:

The Heckman Bindery, Inc. from N. Manchester, Indiana
American Bindery from Topeka, Kansas
Houchen Bindery LTD from Utica/Omaha, Nebraska
Hoag & Sons' Book Bindery, Inc. from Springport, Michigan

All of the patterned library editions share the same aesthetic even though the series was published from 1932 through 1967.  Were the bindings done during the same time period?  If so, when?  Were the library bindings done by the publisher or another company?

The last comment you made is addressed in my previous answer.  Since the books were rebound and by different binderies, various patterns were used.  Often, the binderies used plain bindings, such as red, blue, or yellow, with no pattern.  I have never collected those since they are not interesting.

The books could have been rebound at any time from when they were fairly new up to the present time.  I have never seen Judy Bolton library editions from before 1950, but I have for other series, so it is possible that some might exist from before 1950.  However, nearly all of the Judy Bolton library editions that I have seen date from the 1950s and 1960s.

It can be very difficult to date a library edition, since libraries have the habit of removing every single notation once the decision has been made to discard the book.  Sometimes, the library leaves some of the markings, and those markings have given me some dates.

The patterned binding Judy Bolton books that I have are mostly all from the middle part of the 1960s.  This is because the Judy Bolton series went out of print in 1967, and sales of the books declined rapidly in the last few years that the books were available.  Many books were remaindered by the publisher.  I speculate that many of the remaindered books were sold directly to binderies or to libraries and were immediately rebound as library editions.

Your website makes mention of the pattern seeming to go along with the title of the book.  I was not able to tell which ones you meant.  Are these books worth any more than the others? 

The patterned bindings are all worth about the same amount.  Some more attractive ones might be worth more, but it would be difficult to assign a value since most collectors of the Judy Bolton books prefer the regular editions.

Sometimes I fancy that a particular pattern might have been selected for a certain book, but that is purely speculation on my part.  If you go to my patterned binding page, I see the pattern on Clue in the Patchwork Quilt as looking similar to a quilt.  Or, for the Mystic Ball with the star inside a circle pattern (one of the books sent to you), I fancy the circle and star as seeming to indicate something "mystical."

I see library bindings as a work of art.  The person who was responsible for rebinding a book might have decided that a certain pattern fit the title rather than another pattern.

Are the library editions more scarce than other Judy Bolton editions?  Does the scarcity affect the value?  I have heard that library editions are not particularly desirable. 

The library editions are much scarcer than the regular editions.  In some cases, a particular library binding may be one-of-a-kind with only one example in existence.  A collector who sets out to acquire a certain Judy Bolton book in a patterned binding might have to look for a long time before finding one.

The scarcity of the library editions does not affect the value.  A small group of collectors are very interested in these bindings, but most of them want the books not to be library discards, which is highly unrealistic.  If a binding surfaces that is in excellent condition with no library markings, then the value would be higher.  For the average library edition that is a library discard, the value remains low.

I normally am able to acquire most any library bindings that come up for sale at less than $10.00 each due to lack of interest from other collectors.  While I wish that more collectors would find them interesting, I do benefit from the low prices.  I would like for others to become interested in the library bindings, and perhaps your article will cause a few more people to take a second look at library bindings.

Do you know who designed these patterned bindings?  Do the patterns somehow represent the time period or genre?

I do not know who designed these patterns.  There are a few companies that currently rebind books, and you might be able to find some information from one of them.  The current companies tend to incorporate a copy of the book's original artwork into the library binding.  The major companies do not use patterns, but some of the small, independent companies may still do so.

Are the library editions always found with call numbers on the spines?  Does that add or subtract from the value?

Library editions normally do have the call numbers on the spine, although sometimes the numbers are on a sticker that can be removed.  I have removed the stickers from the outside of many of my library editions, which does add to the aesthetic appeal of the books as seen on the shelf.  The presence or absence of the numbers has no effect on value, except in the instance of collectors who do not want library discards.  Since most collectors who desire the library editions know that the books will be library discards, the numbers have no impact on value.

A few scattered collectors are willing to pay high prices for library editions, because some of these people borrowed library editions from libraries as children and hope to build a set of the books just like what they remember from the library. To them, the books hold a special sentimental value.

How do the patterned binding values compare to the values of the other Judy Bolton library editions and the Judy Bolton regular editions?  I am aware of the great variance in value from regular editions, signed editions, first printings, etc., and that condition is also a factor. 

This is a complex question to answer, as you already know.

Regarding the regular editions, the Judy Bolton books from #1 up to around #20 tend to sell for low prices when the books are lacking the dust jackets.  For #21 and up, the values climb with the highest values for the books numbered around #30 and up.

The patterned bindings are worth around $5 to $10 each for most titles.  For around #25-31, the value of the patterned bindings is around $10-20 each.  For #32 and up, which are the scarcest titles in the series, the value of the patterned bindings is $25 to $50 each.

The regular editions with nice dust jackets sell for around twice as much as the patterned bindings.

Regarding other library bindings, the Cameo Library bindings are much harder to find than the patterned bindings.  Unfortunately, the illustration is rubbed off of the cover of many of them, which reduces the value.  If the books are in rough shape like most surviving copies, then the value is about the same as with the patterned bindings.

If the Cameo Library bindings are in excellent condition, then their value would probably be around twice as much as the patterned bindings.

I want to bring up a point that does not fit in with any of the questions.  Patterned library bindings are available for a wide variety of books, not just Judy Bolton, but for most all other series books, and all sorts of other books.  Think of any popular fiction title from the last 50 years.  Someone, somewhere, probably has a patterned binding of that book.

The patterned bindings are great to use as part of a decorating scheme.  For people who want to possess some of the books just for decorating, which title is contained by the binding is not relevant.  A great source for patterned bindings is library book sales.  They also sometimes show up in thrift stores, garage sales, and antique shops.

Judy Bolton in Country Living Magazine

In June, one of the editors of Country Living Magazine contacted me about loaning some of my books for a photo shoot.  It turned out that they were interested in photographing some of the Judy Bolton books that can seen seen on my patterned bindings page for the Judy Bolton series.

Before I knew which books they wanted, I balked because I am very possessive of my dust-jacketed books, since most of my books are in excellent condition and are first printings.  After I learned that they wanted to photograph patterned bindings, I had no problem.  I was okay with loaning out some of those.  You have to actually try in order to succeed in damaging a library edition.  I figured that they would come through the mail okay.

Country Living paid for overnight shipping of the books from me to them, since they needed them immediately.  The books were returned to me in less than one week and arrived in the same condition as I sent them.

Next, I answered a bunch of questions about library editions.  At the time, I knew that I was giving far, far more information than they needed but I wanted to make certain that they understood what the true origin is of a library edition and that they clearly understood that the values tend to be quite low.  As I expected, they used almost none of the information I provided, but I was quite pleased when I saw what did appear in the magazine.  The information they gave was completely factual.  Whew!

The Judy Bolton books were featured as part of a short article in the September 2012 issue called "Judge a Book by Its Cover."  The subtitle of the article is "A purposefully superficial guide to superb-looking vintage series."  The article features an eclectic mix of books selected for having interesting bindings.  My Judy Bolton books were the only ones featured that fall into our area of interest.  Here is a picture of the Judy Bolton section of the article.

Click on the image so that you can read the text.

I am going to place my answers to the questions that I was asked in a separate blog post.  I always love discussing library bindings, so I want to share that information.

Answers to Library Edition Questions

Cleaning Library Editions

Library editions can be cleaned much easier than regular editions, since the bindings can more easily withstand exposure to moisture. I decided to use some library editions that I just acquired as an example.

These books were absolutely filthy. They felt grimy when I removed them from the package, and the books have a musty odor. The text blocks are quite foxed, and I suspect that the books were kept in some type of outbuilding by their general appearance.

I knew that these books would not clean up very well, since the dirt looked to be embedded in the covers. However, I wanted the books not to feel nasty, so they were still worth cleaning.

Soap and water would probably work just fine, but years ago, I purchased some Demco book cleaner, which is what I use.

I have to be very careful with the printed parts of the covers. The print tends to come off of library editions fairly easily, so those parts cannot be cleaned as well. I first start with the unprinted areas where I know that I can rub very hard. Last, I go over the printed areas with a much lighter stroke and for a short amount of time. I wipe each area dry before I go to another part of the cover. Last, I take a dry cloth and buff the cover back as shiny as I can get it.

This is what the books looked like after my first attempt.

I thought I could do a little better, so I tried again with the following result.

I could probably get a little more dirt off, but I decided to quit. As stated, I knew that the books would not clean well, and I will not be able to get all of the dirt off no matter how long I try. If I were to go much further, I would end up taking off too much of the print.

These library editions were not the best examples since I could not clean them well. I have had filthy library editions clean up quite nicely, to the point that the books ended up a completely different color in the end. In those cases, the cleaning process is very satisfactory.

More Thick Library Editions

I found the rest of my thick library editions. I have four of them.  Three of them are Nancy Drew books, and one of them is a Dana Girls book.

All four books are thick with a glossy frontispiece illustration. 

The blue Hollow Oak has pulp paper that has deeply yellowed.  These bindings are not as old as the one mentioned in my previous post on this subject.  Lilac Inn and the blue Hollow Oak came from the same library.  Both books have "date due" dates from 1985 to 1995.  Hollow Oak has a sticker from the bindery which is stamped November, 1980.

The red Hollow Oak has no dates, but the binding design is very similar to some books I have that were bound in the 1960s and 1970s, so I assume that it dates back to that general time.

Lone Tree Cottage also has no dates, but the bindery was Hoag & Sons' Book Bindery, Inc. from Springport, Michigan.  I have several books from Hoag & Sons that date back to the 1950s and 1960s, so Lone Tree Cottage was likely bound during that time.

It is quite unusual to run across any library editions that were rebound from thick books with glossy frontispiece or glossy internal illustrations.

An Old Dana Girls Library Binding

I noticed a Dana Girls library binding in an eBay listing recently.  It was in with some Nancy Drew books.  I hesitated in part because library editions always come in lots with regular edition books that are in awful shape, so I end up with books that are difficult to sell.  It is much harder to sell extra books than it once was.  Finally, I decided to buy the lot since the price was low. In short, I couldn't resist another library binding.

Once I received the books, I was very pleased with the library binding.  The book is thick, so it was rebound from one of the purple Dana Girls books with good quality paper and a glossy frontispiece illustration.  Both the original green endpapers and the glossy frontispiece illustration survived the rebinding process.  Since the book is thick, this means that the library binding is probably pretty old, since the thick books would likely have been rebound at least 50 to 60 years ago.

Next, I noticed that the book is from a Meridian, Mississippi library.  This is interesting to me since my paternal grandparents lived in Meridian.

I then found some evidence as to how old this binding is.  Many libraries write information sideways in the hinge area, usually on the title page.

This one mentions 1942, and 1942 is not the copyright of The Mystery of the Locked Room.  I already have my answer, but I look around for more information.  Usually, the date in the hinge area is the most that I can hope to find.  This was not the case with this book.

One date is still visible on the rear free endpaper, and it looks like either 1942 or 1943.

The last piece of information that I found inside this book is usually never present, and it is the most exciting.  Library editions very seldom have the exact date that the book was rebound, but this one does.

The date is partially hidden underneath the library pocket.  The book was rebound on December 31, 1941 by Stappenbeck & Craig of Bloomington, Indiana.

The importance of library editions cannot be overstated.  This book was rebound right after the United States entered World War II.  Many families would have been unable to purchase new books for their children, but they could go to the public library.  By rebinding books, libraries were able to offer good series books in durable bindings that would last for many years.