The Nancy Drew Canister Puzzle

The Nancy Drew canister puzzle is an unbelievably scarce item that is scarce enough to be called rare, which is a word I typically do not use ever.  It has not been up for sale in around 15 to 20 years, to anyone's knowledge.

The canister puzzle is so scarce that I listed it in my post, Ten Rarest Nancy Drew Books and Collectibles.

Sometime in the 2000s, an eBay seller listed a Nancy Drew canister puzzle along with a Hardy Boys canister puzzle together in the same listing.  As I recall, the listing had a Buy It Now of $25.  Naturally, the first person who saw the listing purchased it.  The listing was discussed in the Nancy Drew Sleuths Yahoo! group, and everyone agreed that the seller made a huge mistake in placing the Buy It Now on the listing.  It was great, however, for the person who saw the listing first.

Below is a screen cap from the above linked post.  I am pretty certain that the photo came from the listing for the two canister puzzles.

A Nancy Drew canister puzzle coming up for sale is pretty much unheard of and a rather exciting experience.  As I already mentioned, I do not believe one has sold since the one eBay listing of many years ago.  That is... until this month in which two canister puzzles have sold on eBay.

The first one was listed for auction on April 5 and closed on April 12.  Click on the image to see a larger version.

I saw the listing right after it was listed, and I intended to bid.  I did enter an aggressive bid, a good bit higher than the final closing bid, into eSnipe which was set to be placed at the very end of the auction.  For reasons that I cannot effectively articulate, I changed my mind and canceled the eSnipe bid seven minutes before the end of the auction.

I just decided that I didn't really need it that much, but I can't really explain why.  I was baffled, however, when the listing closed at $693.00.  I personally thought that it would close at above $1,000 due to how very few people have ever seen one.  Most major Nancy Drew collectors do not own this canister puzzle.  So I'm not sure what happened.  Perhaps I just think the canister puzzle is worth more than others do.

I didn't regret canceling my bid, although I felt like I probably shouldn't have canceled it.  I was happy for the winner of the auction.

So four days went by, and then another canister puzzle was listed on eBay.

I also saw this listing right after it was listed.  (The eBay feed is a beautiful thing.  I keep telling people to use it.  Hopefully, some of you do.)  The listing had a Buy It Now.  It was like a tasty snack placed right in front of me.  Oh, dear.

I was so tempted.  I looked at the pictures.  I decided to look at the one that had sold four days before.  I noticed that the first puzzle is white around the title while the second listing is yellow around the title.  I looked at the image from the old listing of years ago, and it is yellow.  This intrigued me.  The puzzle with white does not appear to be faded, since I would expect that the rest of the puzzle would show evidence of fading.  Just knowing that two variants appear to exist piqued my interest that much more.  You know where this is going, right?

Of course I bought it!

The price is more than I would have liked to have paid.  After all, I did back out on my bid for the first listing.  I'm okay with the purchase because I see this as being paid for by my stimulus payment of $1,200.  And I still have a little to spare.  It's all good.

This story has a good ending.  I must reassure you of that because of what comes next.

I opened my mailbox today to see the envelope with the canister puzzle in it.

I will tell you exactly what I thought when I saw the envelope.  What kind of a freaking idiot mails a $900 item in a bubble-lined envelope?  That doesn't sound nice, but it is what I thought.  This defies logic.  The seller has received positive feedback praising him for his packaging.  I am baffled.

I am the person who quarantines my packages for a few days.  No quarantine for this one!  I only delayed long enough to snap the above photos, then I cut the envelope open.  Fortunately, the puzzle is fine.  I snapped additional photos, seen below.  I did have to wash my hands several times during the process, because I am extremely careful with anything new that comes into the house due to the pandemic.

At least the canister did not get damaged.  I just noticed while finishing this post that the delivery confirmation requires a signature.  This package was left in my mailbox, and I didn't have to sign for it.  I checked the tracking, and it still says "out for delivery."  So the carrier didn't scan the tracking at all.  Now do you understand why I refuse to sell books online right now, why I refuse to use carrier pickup since I am not willing to walk into the post office?  I don't trust my mail carrier due to his many mistakes.

The canister is pretty small.  I expected it to be a little bigger.  I am not disappointed at all; I just didn't know the size.  The canister measures 5 1/2 inches tall by 4 inches in diameter.  It's a cute little canister.

It turned out that I did myself a favor in canceling my bid for the first puzzle auction.  By not bidding on that auction, I caused the auction to close lower than it would have, possibly by hundreds of dollars.  If I had bid higher on that auction, the seller of the second puzzle probably would have priced his puzzle higher.  Therefore, both puzzles would have cost more in the end.  Either way, I probably paid less, whether I would have won the first auction or not.

My final cost for the canister puzzle was $927.30.  I have to pay a hefty 9.1% local sales tax on my purchases.

But why was it mailed in an envelope?

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Edited to add:  The seller finally listed his Hardy Boys canister puzzle today with a Buy It Now of $149.95.  It has sold.  The seller had offered it to me, but I declined since I am not interested in Hardy Boys collectibles.  The canister is red instead of blue like the one from the old auction.  It's interesting that there are two versions of each of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys canisters.

Signed Memorabilia from Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase 2019

In early December, I acquired three autographed items associated with the 2019 movie, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, starring Sophia Lillis.

This cap was signed by Sophia Lillis (Nancy Drew), Sam Trammell (Carson Drew), Jesse C. Boyd (Wharton), and Laura Wiggins (Helen).

This copy of Nancy Drew #2, The Hidden Staircase, was signed by Sophia Lillis (Nancy Drew), Laura Wiggins (Helen), Sam Trammell (Carson Drew), and Jesse C. Boyd (Wharton).

Finally, I acquired this prop signed by Sophia Lillis (Nancy Drew), Laura Wiggins (Helen), Zoë Renee (George), and Mackenzie Graham (Bess).

The sign measures 13 inches by 19 inches and is printed on Epson photo paper.  The below screen capture from the movie shows the placement of the sign in one of the shop windows.

I like having my very own "River Heights Slice of the Heights Festival" sign.

Promotional Items from the 2007 Nancy Drew Movie with Emma Roberts

I have made some nice recent purchases of promotional items and memorabilia associated with the Nancy Drew 2019 movie, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, and the 2019 Nancy Drew television show from The CW.  I will write up a post on those items once all of them have arrived.  Meanwhile, my recent purchases made me think of the 2007 movie with Emma Roberts.

In 2007, I was able to purchase a number of promotional items associated with the Emma Roberts movie.  I keep all of them in the bag seen in the next photo.

The bag was available for purchase at Barnes and Noble along with the items seen in the next photo.  Obviously, I purchased duplicates.

This next photo shows a small clutch, the press kit, the Emma Roberts cover of Nancy Drew's Guide to Life, and a metal tin that contains the Emma Roberts cover of Nancy Drew's Guide to Life.  Notice that the book in the tin has a magnifying glass attached, while the other one does not.

This last photo shows a Nancy Drew activity book, a sticker designed to be put on an iPod, a bookmark, three compacts, three pens/markers, a little spiral notebook, and a clue ball.

Sadly, the clue ball is leaking.  Fortunately, the plastic bag caught the fluid, and I now have the clue ball enclosed in a Ziploc bag.

I was disappointed that the clue ball is no longer functional.  I wanted to ask it who killed Lucy Sable.  What a shame.

There were also some other items associated with the Emma Roberts movie that I have not shown here.  I limited this post to what I keep in the bag, which is primarily the promotional items.

I will show off my swag for the 2019 productions once I have it all in hand.

Nancy Drew Twin Thriller Promotional Papers

The purchase detailed in this post is why I love eBay and why I check my eBay feed everyday.  If you have saved searches on eBay, then you have an eBay feed.

https://www.ebay.com/feed

Many collectors have stopped checking eBay, because eBay no longer has the excellent selection that it once did.  However, you never know what might suddenly appear on eBay at any given moment.  That's why I check eBay every single day without fail.

I found nothing of interest on eBay from December 18 through February 9.  That is almost eight weeks.  Others would have given up on eBay, but I keep checking no matter what.  I was finally rewarded in the late evening of February 10.

I checked my eBay feed and saw a picture of the promotional papers for the Nancy Drew Twin Thrillers book club editions.  I have wanted to get the promotional papers for quite some time.  I saw the low price of $9.99 plus postage and clicked on the listing as quickly as I could.  I saw that the listing was set as Buy It Now and didn't bother to read the description.  I knew that I had to act fast, because the listing would not last long.  I managed to complete the Buy It Now just 11 minutes after the seller listed the item.  The good items always go fast on eBay.

The paperwork is missing the original mailing envelope and the order form, but the letter and the color brochure are present.

Use the following link and scroll to the bottom of the page to see the mailing envelope, order form, and return envelope that I do not have.

http://seriesbookart.weebly.com/nancy-drew-twin-thrillers.html

An advertisement for the book club can also be found in the first issue of Pizzazz magazine from October 1, 1977.

Nancy Drew Reporter Lobby Card

I do not go to antique shops or estate sales very often these days.  The reason is that these days I tire easily and cannot tolerate going many places.  It's just no longer any fun at all.  I'd rather sit at my computer and browse online listings.  I do try to skim the estate sale pictures just in case, but I will only attend a sale if it is in my immediate vicinity or if I see something extremely good in one of the photos.

This afternoon I decided to skim the estate sale photos, and I actually hoped that I wouldn't see anything of interest, since I had no desire to go to any sales this weekend. I scanned the photos quite quickly, only looking for photos of books and ignoring everything else.  The books I saw were of no interest.  And then I paused while scrolling one page of photos, because I had seen something.  I did not know what I had seen, but I knew something had grabbed my attention.  I scrolled back up and found the following photo.

Most of you are probably just like me in that you can sense an item of interest in a glance without consciously processing what was seen.  Somehow, I spotted the Nancy Drew lobby card in a flash, and I was only looking for books.

I then discovered that the sale was in progress, and I assumed that it had started this morning around 4 1/2 hours before.  Was it even worth bothering?  My expectation was that the lobby card would be gone, but I decided that I needed to go just in case, even though the sale was 15 miles away.  I immediately got in the car and left.  When I arrived, I discovered that the sale had started only 50 minutes before and that people were still waiting to get inside. This meant that there was a chance that the lobby card was still there.  I added my name to the list and had to wait 30 minutes to get inside.

Once inside, I went from room to room trying to locate the lobby cards.  I couldn't find them and assumed they had sold.  On a second trip through one room, one of the people running the sale was explaining something to a customer and mentioned Nancy Drew.  Just my luck.  I stood there waiting, hoping that the card I wanted was not going to be selected.  The customer put the lobby cards down, and I picked them up, removing the Nancy Drew lobby card from the sleeve that contained the lobby cards.

Have you ever noticed that people always make a big deal about seeing Nancy Drew on anything?  Shortly after I picked up the Nancy Drew lobby card, an employee wrote up my ticket.  She made a point of saying, "Nancy Drew!"  They always say it with a lilt to their voice.  Have you noticed that?  I am glad that everyone has nice memories of Nancy Drew, but at the same time, I wish my primary interest were a bit less likely to attract attention, especially when I am about to purchase something priced at below value.

Here are two photos of the lobby card, one with the camera flash and one without.

I have never been very interested in purchasing the memorabilia associated with the Bonita Granville Nancy Drew films.  I also am not interested in the memorabilia associated with the television series of the late 1970s.  My focus has always been on the actual books more than anything else.

I have never even purchased the reproduction lobby cards.  It's just not an interest.  I have always thought that I would never own anything associated with the Bonita Granville Nancy Drew films unless I got really lucky one day and found something inexpensively.  And so it finally happened.

I am not going to divulge exactly what I paid, since I could always decide at some point to sell the lobby card.  For now, I will keep it and will most likely frame it and hang it on the wall.

Grosset and Dunlap Series Book Advertising Sign

Earlier this week I happened upon an eBay listing for a Grosset and Dunlap advertising sign.  I briefly debated about whether to take the Buy It Now.  The starting bid was $49.99, and the Buy It Now was $99.99.  The shipping cost was $11.55.  I considered whether anyone else would care and whether deactivating the Buy It Now would be the better move since prices are generally quite low right now.  My luck would be that a like-minded person would come along and be willing to pay a high price, so I grabbed the Buy It Now.  Items like this survived in very low quantity, so I felt like my decision was the right one.  Chances were that someone else would have understood the scarcity of this item and would have wanted it as much as I did. 

1950's NANCY DREW, HARDY BOYS, TOM SWIFT, JR, PEGGY LANE & FURY Advertising Sign

I have been eagerly waiting for the sign to arrive all week.  It finally arrived today.  I was so excited when I saw the package!

I was so excited that I had to photograph the package right before I opened it!  Normally, I only photograph packages when I expect to have a problem, but this time, I wanted to document my excitement!  I could tell that the sign was packaged well, so I knew it had arrived undamaged.

I knew that I had made the right decision in purchasing the sign as soon as I picked up the package, seeing how large the package was and feeling how heavy it was.  I saw the frame in the auction picture, but I did not expect or care whether I received the frame.  I knew as soon as I felt the weight of the package that I had received the frame as well and that it was heavy.

After I extracted my purchase from the package, I then removed the sign from the frame, simply because I wanted to examine it closer.  That's just a requirement whenever a purchase like this is made.

The sign is in two pieces, and the split is very clean and straight, so it is possible that the sign has always been in two pieces.  The sign is on heavy cardboard.  I didn't think to measure it while I had it out of the frame, but the cardboard is probably around 1/8 inch thick.

I had to spend awhile cleaning adhesive off of the glass from the frame.  The seller placed tape on the glass to keep it from breaking during shipment, and a bunch of adhesive stuck to the glass when I removed the tape.  That took some effort to remove.  Finally, I got the sign back in the frame.  Even that part took effort because this is a frame that screws together.

I was able to get the two halves of the sign lined up better.

Since the Peggy Lane series was published from 1962 through 1965, this sign must be from that time period.  Notice that the sign has the books priced at $1.25, so I feel like the sign is most likely from around 1962 or 1963.

Also of interest is which series are featured on the sign.  Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift were all Stratemeyer Syndicate series.  Fury and Peggy Lane were Grosset and Dunlap series.  The series books written by independent authors, such as the Judy Bolton, Vicki Barr, Cherry Ames, and Rick Brant series, were not mentioned on the sign.  Those series were all in print at the time this sign was used.  Of course, another Stratemeyer Syndicate series, the Dana Girls, was also not mentioned on the sign.

I am extremely pleased with this purchase and believe it was worth the price paid.

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Cereal Promotion

In 1978, select boxes of Cookie Crisp cereal had Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys paint books as premiums.  There are six different paint books.

The Cursed Jewels
The Eerie Castle
The Mad Scientist
The Sea Monsters
The Secret Cave
The Visitors from Tomorrow

I have never tried very hard to find the paint books, just because it has never been a priority.  Nevertheless, I do have a couple of them.

The Cookie Crisp cereal boxes with the paint book promotion are extremely scarce and very expensive.  I don't know what the current value is, but I suspect that the cereal boxes are still worth several hundred dollars each in the current market.  They are about impossible to find and would have been a good candidate for my blog post on the "Ten Rarest Nancy Drew Books and Collectibles."

Image from the Nancy Drew Sleuth blog

The above image is of one of the Cookie Crisp boxes and is from Jennifer Fisher's blog.  Please note that I am Jennifer White.

Recently, I spotted a partial cereal box with the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys promotion on eBay.  I almost didn't click on the listing because the seller placed a large white box with "EBAY" inside the image, which made it look not interesting.  Who is interested in something called "EBAY"? 

Someone had cut out the part of the box that contained the promotion, and the seller had that part of the box up for sale.  I immediately decided that I wanted to purchase this item.  I kept expecting other people to bid, but in the end, I was the only bidder on the auction and was able to purchase the partial box at a total cost of $5.74 including shipping.

Partial cereal box on eBay

Even though I only have part of the box, I believe that I got a bargain.

Since the paint books have never been a priority, I would never be someone who would pay hundreds of dollars for an intact cereal box.  It's just not that important to me.  However, getting a partial cereal box for less than $10 is perfect!

You will notice two bids on the auction, but both bids were me.  I bid at the beginning to keep the listing from being closed early.  I bid my true maximum at the very end of the auction.  I kept wondering why nobody else bid on the auction.  I have several ideas.

The seller's big white box placed over the image may have kept people from noticing the cereal box.  I almost scrolled past the image, and then quickly realized that I needed to take a closer look.  I'm glad I did.

Some people may have noticed the auction but chose not to bid because the cereal box was not complete.  I always take the view that I would rather have an imperfect rare collectible than go without having that rare collectible for years in hopes of getting one that is perfect.  Items like this are always worth buying, especially when they are cheap.

The auction closed on Sunday, December 1, which was over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  More than likely, a number of people did not notice the auction due to being distracted by the holiday.

Notice that my partial cereal box has a blue background and that Jennifer Fisher's box has a black background, so variations in the boxes exist.

The Barnes and Noble Nancy Drew Bag

This bag is currently available in Barnes and Nobles stores.

The bag costs $1.99. The bags began showing up in stores around a week ago. Some Nancy Drew fans have had trouble locating a store which has the bags in stock. Other fans have reported that their stores have many bags.

Ten Rarest Nancy Drew Books and Collectibles

I found the phrase "ten rarest Nancy Drew Books" as a search term that led someone to this blog. I decided to list some of the rarest Nancy Drew books and collectibles. For people who are not very familiar with collecting Nancy Drew, be aware that the book or collectible has to be exactly like what I mention. If I state that a book has to list to a certain title, then an example that lists to any other title does not match.

Many Nancy Drew collectibles or book variants are scarce or perhaps rare, but I am only going to mention the ones that seem to be so scarce that most people will either never own them or will have much difficulty in acquiring them.

For a few items, I will give you an idea of value. For others, too many factors would influence the value. In some cases, the value may not be particularly high, because few people might be interested. Just because an item is rare does not mean that many people desire it.

Here is my list of ten rare (or at least very scarce) Nancy Drew books and collectibles in no particular order.

Nancy Drew Canister Puzzle

Courtesy of www.nancydrewsleuth.com

The boxed versions of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys puzzles from the late 1970s are findable, but the canister versions are extremely elusive. I recall seeing them up for sale only once online, and I believe that this picture is from that listing. Since the canister puzzles are so extremely elusive, I wonder whether the canister version was some type of promotional item. The canister puzzle is probably worth at least several hundred dollars.

#78 The Phantom of Venice Wanderer Hardcover with Dust Jacket

#57-78 in the Nancy Drew series were published in hardcover editions with dust jackets in small print runs, unlike the very common softcover versions. I covered this topic in greater detail in this blog post. The dust-jacketed versions are much harder to find, but most interested collectors are able to acquire the majority of them.

#78 The Phantom of Venice is the one that is just about impossible to acquire and, with its dust jacket present, is probably worth more than $100 as a library discard and worth more than $300 if not a library discard. If the book does not have a dust jacket and is a library discard, then I expect that it would sell for well under $100.

My Nancy Drew Date Book and Homework Planner

Courtesy of www.nancydrewsleuth.com

This homework planner seldom comes up for sale, which makes it extremely scarce.

The Mystery at Lilac Inn first printing book

The first printing book for The Mystery at Lilac Inn is very elusive. The first printing dust jacket seems to be slightly more common, and it is also very elusive. I have a first printing dust jacket that is mismatched with a later book. I also have a second printing dust jacket that is mismatched with a later book. For some reason, quite a few of the early Lilac Inn jackets are matched with later books, which makes the first printing book extremely hard to find. My guess is that sales of the first printing of Lilac Inn were lower than sales of the first printings of other early Nancy Drew books.

The first printing Lilac Inn book has four post-text ad pages. The ads are "This Isn't All!" followed by Hardy Boys to Airport Mystery, Outdoor Girls to Canoe Trip, and Blythe Girls to Margy's Mysterious Visitor in that order. The order is important, because a later printing has the same ads in a different order.

The Secret of the Old Clock with the 1930A-1 dust jacket

This jacket is now showing up more regularly than it once did, but few examples are known to exist. The dust jacket has a front flap that lists three Nancy Drew titles, ending with Bungalow Mystery. The value depends upon the condition. Examples in rough shape have sold for several thousand dollars. All other printings are not worth anywhere near this much.

Nancy's Mysterious Letter first printing book

The first printing dust jacket is scarce but can be found without a huge amount of trouble since it was used on the first three printings. The first printing book is nearly impossible to find. The first printing book has a post-text ad that ends with Clue in the Diary. Some buyers have had trouble with sellers answering questions about the post-text ad wrong, which adds to the difficulty in acquiring this book.

The Sign of the Twisted Candles first printing book

This first printing book is just about impossible to find, especially because sellers do not answer questions correctly. The post-text ads are "This Isn't All" with a line drawn around it in the shape of a box, Nancy Drew to Mysterious Letter, and Judy Bolton to Invisible Chimes. A later printing has the same Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton lists in the same order, but has "This Isn't All" without a line drawn around it. This is the cause of all the trouble.

Sellers don't understand the difference, and questions have to be phrased very carefully. I had to return a book for a refund due to this problem since I used the phrasing in Farah's Guide. I asked the seller if "This Isn't all!" was within a box, and the seller said that it was. The seller thought I meant that the text was in the shape of the box rather than with a line drawn around it.

Nancy Drew #5, 8, and 11 with incorrectly numbered dust jackets

In 1950, the cover art changed for ten Nancy Drew titles. The wrong number was placed on the spines of four of the dust jackets, #2, 5, 8, and 11. Read this post for a complete explanation. #2 with the incorrect number, 8, on the spine is very scarce but can be found. #5, 8, and 11 with the incorrect numbers are infinitely harder to find than #2. The vast majority of collectors will probably never be able to find misnumbered examples of #5, 8, and 11.

The Clue in the Crossword Cipher first printing book

This book lists to The Phantom of Pine Hill on the back cover. As I recently explained, the book is elusive, although I know of several people who own it. The book is very difficult to locate, especially because sellers do not answer the question about the back cover list correctly.

Nancy Drew: Detective Dust Jacket Wrapper

Courtesy of www.nancydrewsleuth.com

Two printings of The Password to Larkspur Lane came with a wrapper on top of the dust jacket that advertised the movie Nancy Drew: Detective starring Bonita Granville. The wrapper is extremely scarce and is worth several thousand dollars in excellent condition.

1930s Nancy Drew Advertising Card

This outstanding Nancy Drew collectible sold on eBay tonight for $1,311.00.  It's hard to say for certain how old this item is, but it is likely from the 1930s since Shadow Ranch is the last title listed; the pictured dust jacket has the 1930s art; and the price of the books is 50 cents.  The card measures 11 by 14 inches.  I would have loved to have bought this fantastic item, but the winning bid was well above what I allow myself to spend on items for my collection.  However, I can admire it from afar!

New Grosset and Dunlap Nancy Drew Collectibles

Today I visited a few bookstores and purchased some of the new collectibles that have been published in advance of the upcoming Nancy Drew Warner Brothers movie.  The best items are the ones put out by Grosset and Dunlap, and I am quite impressed with the effort that Grosset and Dunlap has put into these new items.

By far the best one is the book The Lost Files of Nancy Drew.  Grosset and Dunlap has used some of its old artwork and created a scrapbook about Nancy Drew's adventures during the original 56 Nancy Drew mysteries.   It is set up like it is Nancy Drew's very own scrapbook.  It is the best Nancy Drew item published by Grosset and Dunlap in several decades.

The book opens with this message: Whenever Nancy Drew closed the book on a mystery, she always recorded her adventure in her journal.  For many years it was believed that none of these firsthand accounts existed, but we've unearthed several from some of Nancy's most exciting mysteries.  You are free to read them, but be careful - make sure no one's looking over your shoulder.  The last thing Nancy would want is for any criminals or crooks to learn all her secrets!

The book is full of comments that read as though written by Nancy Drew herself.  The book contains Nancy Drew's mementos from her past mysteries, and many items are featured in the book as three-dimensional items that can be pulled up from the pages, such as Josiah Crowley's will, Nancy's Sleuthing Supply List, Nancy's Ski Pass from The Mystery at Ski Jump, Nancy's passport, and other neat surprises.  Grosset and Dunlap put an amazing amount of time and effort into producing this excellent scrapbook.

Grosset and Dunlap has also created an item called the Nancy Drew Pocketbook Mysteries.  This neat item is like a pocketbook and contains the first two Nancy Drew Mystery Stories in the current Grosset and Dunlap flashlight editions.  The pocketbook has handles and the side features the original Tandy art to the first Nancy Drew mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock.  The part I love the most is the "lining" of the pocketbook.  The lining is made of heavy paper stock and is the old blue multipic endpapers that Grosset and Dunlap used in its Nancy Drew books during the 1950s and 1960s.   The Nancy Drew Pocketbook Mysteries is a neat collectible item!  

The third item put out by Grosset and Dunlap is the new updated edition of the Nancy Drew Sleuth Book.  The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book has been out of print since the last 1970s and is quite scarce.  The cover of the new book is very similar to the old edition, but the silhouette has been changed back to a 1930s-style Nancy Drew rather than the 1970s-style silhouette that was on the 1970s edition.  Best of all, the new book has a matte finish, unlike the rest of Grosset and Dunlap's current Nancy Drew books, the ubiquitous flashlight editions we love so much.  In fact, I don't even own a set of the flashlight editions as I dislike them so much.  But this new Sleuth book is a must-have!