As usual with book clubs, the books were not numbered and were not issued in sequential order.
The Clue of the Velvet Mask was the introductory volume. Six of the books were issued in 1959, and the remaining six were issued in 1960. The books issued in 1959 were The Clue of the Velvet Mask, The Ringmaster's Secret, The Scarlet Slipper Mystery, The Witch Tree Symbol, The Hidden Window Mystery, and The Haunted Showboat. The books issued in 1960 were The Secret of the Wooden Lady, The Clue of the Black Keys, The Mystery at the Ski Jump, The Secret of the Golden Pavilion, The Secret of the Old Clock, and The Hidden Staircase.
Since The Clue of the Velvet Mask was the introductory volume, it is the easiest one to find. The books from the 1959 set are easier to find than the ones from the 1960 set. The Secret of the Old Clock and The Hidden Staircase are consistently the hardest ones to find, so they were likely issued last.
Each book has a colored ribbon on the front endpapers. These are the colors used on each book.
Velvet Mask - turquoise
Ringmaster's Secret - purple
Scarlet Slipper - red
Witch Tree - green
Hidden Window - turquoise
Haunted Showboat - purple
Old Clock - turquoise
Ski Jump - red
Golden Pavilion - purple
Hidden Staircase - orange
Black Keys - green
Wooden Lady - purple or turquoise
The Secret of the Wooden Lady has two variants. One version has a purple ribbon on the endpapers, and the other version has a turquoise ribbon on the endpapers. If I remember correctly, the turquoise ribbon version is much harder to find than the purple ribbon. Both Wooden Lady books have a purple ribbon on the front cover. This means that it is impossible to tell which ribbon is featured inside by looking at the outside of a Wooden Lady Cameo book.
The books feature artwork by Polly Bolian. She illustrated the dust jackets and drew the internal illustrations. The dust jacket art also appears inside each book as the frontispiece illustration.
The Cameo editions are rather hard to find, especially with dust jackets in nice shape. Farah's 12th edition values the bare books from both sets at $15 to $20. He values the dust jackets from the first set at $50 each and the dust jackets from the second set at $75 each. In the last 15 years, I have seen the prices all over the place, from very low up to $200 or more. The primary factors are condition and how many people are seeking the books at any given time.
When I first began collecting, I had no interest in these editions. The Cameo edition jackets pick up dirt very easily since the jackets do not have a shiny finish that repels dirt. The jackets are usually soiled, worn, and torn. I do not remember the exact details, but at some point I acquired a Cameo edition with a jacket in nice shape. From that time on, I saw the books as desirable and began seeking ones with nice jackets.
It was difficult. I purchased my books in 1999 through 2003 when bidding on eBay was always brisk. I recall that prices were often up towards $100. I recall buying a lot that contained most of them, which is the only reason why most of mine only cost me around $30 each. For the remaining titles, I paid $53.22 for #35, $62.22 for #27, and $66.00 for #28. Those were the books that were the toughest for me to acquire with nice dust jackets.
By around 2005, several people who collect Nancy Drew books and who also sell them on eBay decided to focus on these books. Between them, they managed to buy up just about all Cameo editions that surfaced on eBay. These sellers then relisted the books at much higher prices, calling them "RARE." In fact, the books were rare to everyone else, since these sellers were buying up all of them. The prices became artificially inflated.
The prices peaked in the summer of 2008 when a certain buyer purchased $20,000 in series books per month for several months straight. This buyer had laundered approximately $300,000 from her bank and used much of it on books. Since she was not spending her own money, she was willing to pay extreme prices. During that summer, Cameo editions were selling for $200 to $300.
Also from around 2005 to 2008, one of the sellers who bought up all of the Cameo editions especially liked to buy up all of the ones that did not have jackets. That seller then created reproduction dust jackets and resold the books at much higher prices, always emphasizing how impossible it was to find the books with original jackets. This was true, but only because this seller and several others were buying up all of them.
Since 2008, series book prices have fallen, so the Cameo editions now sell for relatively low prices. The Farah's Guide estimates are probably about right for these books, if the jackets are truly in excellent condition. I see many books with jackets that have some wear but are still in pretty good shape selling for only around $10 to $20 in current eBay auctions.
Another problem that could be contributing to the current lower prices is the fact that dozens and possibly hundreds of Cameo editions are in circulation with the reproduction dust jackets that were created by the one seller. I have seen a few resold at times on eBay. Whenever I see a Cameo edition with a dust jacket that looks to be in as nice of condition as the books I photographed for this post, I am always concerned that the jacket might be a reproduction. If the jacket is in a mylar cover, I am extremely concerned, since the reproduction jackets are always placed in mylar covers to make them look better. If the jacket is in nice shape but not in mylar, then I figure that the jacket is more likely to be a "new find" from an estate and therefore more likely to be real.
