Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding #1 Old Clock and #3 Bungalow Mystery

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.

Nancy Drew Lilac Inn 1940s Style Library Binding

In October, I wrote about an auction for a copy of Nancy Drew #2 The Hidden Staircase in the 1940s Style Library Binding.  The auction ended in what was at that time likely the highest price ever paid for a Nancy Drew library edition.  

The question is whether the book is worth the final price of $234.50 plus $3.45 shipping (with sales tax possibly added to the total).  Rare items are always worth whatever someone is willing to pay.  So yes, paying over $200 is worth it. 

A rule of thumb used many years ago was that the actual value of an item auctioned on eBay is what the third highest bidder was willing to pay.  The third highest bidder for this book was willing to pay $77.00.  I feel like $75 to $100 is probably a fair price to put on these books if using the fixed-price format, so $77.00 is in line with that.

However, I do not feel that the winning bidder paid too much.  When two people want a book badly, they will have to compete for it.  That's what happened here.  If I had needed the book, I would have had to have joined the fray as well.  With the competitive bidding now occurring on Nancy Drew library editions, I would have had to have to outbid anyone else who wanted the book.  That's just how it is.  Sometimes the winning bidder has to pay a large amount in order to acquire the book.

A copy of Nancy Drew #4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn in the 1940s Style Library Binding came up for auction in June on eBay.  This time, I had to join the fray, since I didn't have that title.  The winning bid was what must now the highest price ever paid for a Nancy Drew library edition.

Yes, I did win the auction. 

Here is a screen capture of the top part of the bidding list with the three highest bidders' highest bid amounts marked.  

To determine possible value, we should go by the amount bid by the third highest bidder.  For this auction, that amount was $175.  In my last post, I suggested that the 1940s Style Library Binding books are worth $75 to $100 each based on the auction from October.  Looking at this auction and using the third highest bid, the value for these books should be raised to $175 to $200.

Now that we know that this book exists, here is my updated list of known copies.

 #1 one (mine) 

 #2 three (mine and two others)

 #3 one (mine)
 #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)

These books are rare.  They are more rare than any first printing Nancy Drew book in dust jacket.  I have been looking for these books for close to 20 years, and look at how few have surfaced.  

As I mentioned, I was the winning bidder.  With priority mail shipping (at my request) and sales tax, my total cost was $565.21.  I did not pay too much.  Even though I'm placing the value at $175 to $200, the book is really worth whatever someone is willing to pay.  To me, the book is worth $565.21.  

I thought it would be interesting to reveal the prices I have paid for the books I have in this particular binding and when I purchased each book.  The books are listed in the order I acquired them.

 #6    $19.35    3/10/2004

 #5      $6.53    7/15/2005

 #3      $6.00  11/21/2005

#11     $6.00  11/21/2005

 #7    $50.00         7/2009

 #8      $8.00    1/13/2012

 #1    $13.38      2/7/2012

 #2    $23.95      9/3/2015

 #4  $565.21    6/26/2021

The books don't come up for sale very often.  Leaving out the $50.00 price, the books cost around $20 or under until the two recent auctions.  The $50.00 cost of #7 was that high because that was the price that the seller set.  I gladly paid it.  I had learned my lesson in around 2005 when I lost an auction for #15.  I only bid around $30 or so, which at that time seemed like too much.  I should have bid so much higher.  It's been over 15 years, and I haven't seen another #15 come up for sale.

What you see with the low prices was typical for what I paid for Nancy Drew library bindings in the early 2000s.  I often purchased large bulk lots where the books ended up costing me $2 to $4 each.  In some cases I had to purchase books individually, and that usually raised the price to $10 or so each.

The Nancy Drew library editions did not begin coming into vogue until during recent years.  Late last year I wrote about "The Surprising Rise of the Nancy Drew Library Edition."  I won't quote any of that post, but I do want to quote what I stated in a private message to another collector right after the Lilac Inn auction closed.

It's been astonishing to me to see the rapid increase in interest in the Nancy Drew library editions in just the last few years.  I don't mind being forced to pay a lot for one because it means that someone else finally values them as much as I do.  It took long enough!  For 15 years, I was just about the only one and was able to purchase most everything that came up for sale.

I spent 15 years spreading the word with the response, "They look neat, but I only want them if they weren't used in a library."  When people discussed the library binding auction from last year that went for over $200, one person made a remark about how it is best not be be vocal about what one is seeking.  I follow that rule as well, but I don't regret spreading the word about library bindings.  It's no fun collecting something when absolutely no one else cares at all.  I'm glad that some other people care, even though I now have some serious competition.  

It's really wasn't any fun being just about the only person who liked the library editions.  I am so thrilled that others now love these books.  I truly do not mind having a pay a high amount for a book that is now coveted by multiple collectors.  I'd rather have this be the case than still be the only one who has any regard for library editions.

In another private message, a remark was made to me about how amazing it is that the Lilac Inn binding is the first one known to exist.  This was my response.

It really is!  There are people out there who will think the price too high, but we are talking about a book that is actually more scarce than the Old Clock 1930A-1 dust jacket.  The value is lower, but only because most collectors still won't touch the library bindings.

I also exchanged messages with the second-highest bidder.  I wrote this about the scarcity and possible future availability.

I was uncertain for many years whether I ever had even a chance of owning the 1930A-1 Old Clock dust jacket.  But as the years passed, a few more finally showed up, and I was able to get one.  These [1940s Style Library Binding] books would have been discarded from libraries a few decades ago at the latest, so there very well could be some that were purchased by patrons that have been in their homes all this time.  Maybe some more of them will surface soon.

Here are pictures of Lilac Inn.

The inside isn't great, but that does not matter at all to me.  I collect the bindings.  Library bindings come from libraries, so the insides of the books tend not to be that nice due to heavy usage by young people, some of whom choose to blot their lipstick inside the books.  

On a recent post on Facebook, I made the following comment.

To me, library editions come from libraries, so they ought to have library markings. That's just how they are. When I can upgrade a library edition and get a binding with lighter wear, I certainly do so. I have never been worried in the slightest about what kind of markings are on the inside.

I actually hate it that so many librarians remove the pockets and assorted markings when the books are discarded. I prefer that the information remains intact, because that tells me the history of the book, often including when it was rebound.

On my page about the 1940s Style Library Binding, I state that the books were bound as early as 1950 and as late as 1953.  Since Lilac Inn has an interior list that goes to Golden Pavilion, we now know that this binding went as late as 1959.  

Here are pictures of all of my books.

An Auction for a Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding

A copy of Nancy Drew #2, The Hidden Staircase, in the 1940s style library binding was auctioned on eBay.  It is quite fortunate for the seller that they decided on an auction, since two people bid very aggressively on the auction. 

I did not need this title since I do already own it.  My page on this library edition does not show this title, because I no longer add images to my cover art galleries.  I have lost interest because of people who have taken my images and put them on their own sites with no source attribution.  Also, most people seem to be more interested in asking questions on Facebook than in using Internet search to find series book websites.  Why should I bother?

So fortunately, I didn't need this book.  I consider this particular binding style to be the scarcest of the Nancy Drew library bindings.  This binding is so scarce that it could be considered rare, and that's a word I typically never use for anything.

Consider that there are fewer known copies of each title in this library binding set than there are known copies of The Secret of the Old Clock with the 1930A-1 dust jacket.  In fact, there are only slightly more known copies of all titles combined of this library binding than there are of known 1930A-1 Old Clock dust jackets.  At present, we know of 13 surviving Old Clock 1930A-1 dust jackets.

Known copies of the 1940s style library binding:

 #1 one (mine) 
 #2 three (mine, another one, and the one just auctioned)
 #3 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)

That's not very many known copies.  Describing these books as rare is justified.

While I know of three copies of #2, that doesn't make it any easier to find than the rest of the books.  There just aren't enough of these books out there for anyone to find.  

The question is whether the book is worth the final price of $234.50 plus $3.45 shipping (with sales tax possibly added to the total).  Rare items are always worth whatever someone is willing to pay.  So yes, paying over $200 is worth it.  

A rule of thumb used many years ago was that the actual value of an item auctioned on eBay is what the third highest bidder was willing to pay.  The third highest bidder for this book was willing to pay $77.00.  I feel like $75 to $100 is probably a fair price to put on these books if using the fixed-price format, so $77.00 is in line with that. 

However, I do not feel that the winning bidder paid too much.  When two people want a book badly, they will have to compete for it.  That's what happened here.  If I had needed the book, I would have had to have joined the fray as well.  With the competitive bidding now occurring on Nancy Drew library editions, I would have had to have to outbid anyone else who wanted the book.  That's just how it is.  Sometimes the winning bidder has to pay a large amount in order to acquire the book.

As long as the winning bidder can afford the closing price, then it is always worth paying that price to win the auction.  It is far better to pay a higher price than what one might prefer than to regret not bidding high enough.  I still regret not bidding higher on the copy of #15 in this library binding that sold around 10 to 15 years ago on eBay.  Another one has not come up for sale.

I do recommend that library binding enthusiasts consider eSnipe.  If both of the two highest bidders had used eSnipe and held their bids until the final 10 seconds, then the book almost certainly would have closed a good bit lower.  I have used eSnipe since 2001.  While I cannot determine exactly what I have saved, I am certain that I have saved a large amount of money.  

There are also other reasons why waiting until the end of the auction is best, especially when one has become well known among other collectors.  The below passage is an excerpt from an old post in this blog.

Many of us have had bad experiences when bidding early.  I used to bid my maximum early in cases when I was unable to be home to snipe, before I began using eSnipe.  One time a knowledgeable collector spent an hour picking at my bid and finally gave up at just under my maximum.  I would have saved a lot on that book by not bidding until the end.  I never understood why he spent an hour bidding on the auction.

Back years ago when IDs were not hidden and before I sniped, I had a stalker who would bid on items I had found.  That person would "grudge bid" by bidding an outrageous amount just to make me pay a high price for the item.  I got tired of it and decided to bid lower than usual on purpose to catch him at it.  He won the auction.  I received a second chance offer from the seller, since apparently my stalker was unwilling to pay what he had bid.  I refused the second chance offer, even though the price was within what I was willing to pay.

For those reasons and others, I always bid my maximum at the very end of an auction.  

While I cannot prove that I have saved money by sniping, I am absolutely certain that I have.

Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding

The Nancy Drew 1940s Style Library Binding is the most difficult to find of the different Nancy Drew library editions.  I have been searching for them for ten years and have only managed to acquire #1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11.  I once lost an auction for #15.

When Megan Washburn contacted me wanting to know if I wished to see pictures of her books that I do not have in the 1940s Style Library Binding, I was extremely excited.

All books seen here were photographed by Megan Washburn and are owned by Megan Washburn.  Megan granted permission for me to share her photographs.

First, I want to show you Megan's photograph of all of her Nancy Drew books.  This is quite a handsome set of library editions.  Remember that you can always click on a photo to see a larger version.

Now, here are Megan's 1940s Style Nancy Drew library editions.

When I wrote about Nancy's Mysterious Letter, I commented that the books do not show Nancy on the spine.  The Hidden Staircase does show Nancy on the spine, so that statement is false.  The Clue of the Tapping Heels might show Nancy on the spine, but the image is more likely young Gussie Woonton.  The rest of the books stick to the theme of showing an important symbol from the mystery on the spine of the book. 

The Sign of the Twisted Candles has a twisted candle.  The Password to Larkspur Lane has larkspur.  The Mystery of the Ivory Charm has an ivory charm.  The Haunted Bridge has a ghost.  I love the unique spine symbols that each book uses.

Thanks for Megan, we now know that the 1940s Style Library Binding exists for Nancy Drew #1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, and 16.  At this point, I consider it likely that #4, 12, and 14 probably exist as well, although I cannot be certain.  The binderies rebound whichever random books were sent to them, so we have no guarantee that every consecutive title was rebound in this particular binding.  Furthermore, we do not know if any titles past #16 were rebound in this binding.

I am excited to know for certain that more books exist in this binding than the ones I have managed to acquire so far.  I am also encouraged by the knowledge that Megan has duplicates of some titles, which gives me hope that more of these books exist out there and that I may someday find them.

Nancy Drew Clue in the Diary Library Edition

The Nancy Drew library editions that I have named the "1940s-Style Library Binding" are the most difficult to find of the Nancy Drew library editions.  Fortunately, the rest of you do not seem to want them, so I have had little trouble winning auctions whenever one comes up for sale, which is not very often.  I have been fortunate this year, because I found one early this year and a second in August.  The one I just acquired is The Clue in the Diary. 

This book has a spine symbol just like all of the others.  The spine symbol always represents some important part of the mystery.  This book has a diary on the spine.

I always look to see who bound the book, if that information is present.  This book has endpapers upon which "College Bindery, College Place Washington" and "Better Bound Books" are printed in several locations in a rough pattern.  The last book of this style that I purchased came from Geo. A. Flohr Co. Library Binders in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Books that seem to be from the same "set" as to the style, like these that have the 1940s style binding, come from a variety of binderies around the country.  I have no idea where the binderies came up with the images used on the covers.  Did the binderies share the images with each other or did they have some kind of partnership with Grosset and Dunlap or someone else? 

Keep in mind that library bindings were not issued as sets, which is why I put the word in quotations in the above paragraph.  I used to be under that mistaken assumption.  Rather, the binderies rebound whichever random books were sent to them by libraries.   They had certain bindings that they used which made the different random books end up having the appearance of sets.  Just because I am building a "set" of this style of library binding does not mean that an actual "set" ever existed.  Even though I know of the existence of #15 Haunted Bridge does not mean that all of #1-15 exist.  I may never be able to find all of them.

Take the books that I call the "Cameo Binding."  I have scores of Nancy Drew books in this binding, and I have most titles in quite a few different colors.  In spite of the large quantities of books that I have acquired, I have yet to see even one example of #12 Hollow Oak.  Refer to this page to see how I have no image of that book and note how many I have of the others pictured on that page.   While I have built a "set" of the books, a complete set may not exist.

Nancy Drew #1 Old Clock Library Binding

I have written about how difficult it is to find the books from what I call the "1940s Style Library Binding." 

I just acquired an example of The Secret of the Old Clock in this library binding. 

It was only last month that I acquired #8, after a number of years in which I was unable to find any examples. I purchased #6 in March 2004, #5 in July 2005, and #3 and #11 in the same purchase in November 2005. Six years passed before I found #8 in January 2012 and #1 in February 2012.

Since this binding is so difficult to acquire, I have only been able to guess how old I think the books are. My estimate has been from the very early 1950s or possibly the late 1940s. The book I purchased last month was dated 1950, finally giving me one date.

The book I just purchased has no dates, since the library stripped all information from the book when it was discarded. I wish they would not do that. However, this book does have an interior list of titles. The last title listed is Ringmaster's Secret, which means that this book could not have been bound any earlier than the age of the book from which it was rebound. This places my new acquisition no further back than 1953.

Now I have a range of 1950 to 1953 for the years in which I know these books were bound.

Nancy's Mysterious Letter Library Binding

The most difficult to find Nancy Drew library binding is what I call the "1940s Style Library Binding." I cannot express how much I covet these books and how much I would like to find more of them.

Most likely, only a handful of them still exist, and the scarcity is on the same level as the very early first printing Nancy Drew books with dust jackets. However, these books are not worth much since few people are interested in them. This is all the better for me.  [Note from 2022:  This has changed due to an increase in interest, and each book is now worth $100 to $500 or more.]

I was extremely excited when I spotted one on eBay, and it was a different title from any that I already had. I have not seen one for sale in several years. It was agonizing to have to wait a week for the auction to end and then to wait another week for the book to arrive.

During that week, I speculated on what the spine symbol would look like. Every book from this style of binding has a cute spine symbol that represents an important part of the mystery. This kind of little detail is why I consider library editions to be creative works of art. 

Finally, my book arrived.

At first glance, I thought that the spine symbol was Nancy Drew, although I immediately knew better. These books do not feature Nancy on the spine. The spine symbol looks very much like one of the men on the original Tandy dust jacket for Nancy's Mysterious Letter.

The text block of the book is probably from late 1941 based on the thickness of the book. The book has a glossy frontispiece illustration and good quality paper. I very seldom find thick books that have been rebound as library editions. Even though a thick book was used, it could have been rebound into a library binding many years after it was printed. While a thick library edition indicates an old book, the binding does not have to be anywhere near that old.

Since I have found so very few of these books, I have had to guess about how old I think they are. Some libraries are too obsessed about destroying all dates and notations inside their discarded books, and those books are impossible to date. Some libraries leave only the later dates, and just because a book was checked out from a library in the 1970s does not mean that the book had not already been in that library 20 years previously. Other libraries are kind enough to leave certain notations, such as the date of purchase. I am always thrilled when that date is present, since it proves the age of the binding.

I have estimated that these books were likely printed during the very late 1940s or very early 1950s, based on the style of binding and the age of the original books which were rebound in the library binding.

With this new acquisition, I finally have one date. The inside front cover has a stamp noting that the book was bound by Geo. A. Flohr Co. Library Binders in Cincinnati, Ohio. The book was rebound on July 1, 1950, which fits into my estimated time period.

I hope that I can eventually find a few more of these books. I know that #3, 5, 6, 8, 11, and 15 exist. Library editions were not created as sets. Rather, random books that were sent to the bindery were rebound. Just because #15 exists does not mean that all of #1-15 exist.

The hunt for books that may not necessarily exist and the thrill when one is finally discovered is what makes collecting fun.