Some Neat Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions

I have been building a set of Nancy Drew Files in hardcover library editions.  I began my search around five years ago.  These are my previous posts on this topic.

Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions
My Progress on My Set of Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions
Just 12 More Hardcover Nancy Drew Files Needed

This month I spotted an eBay listing with five of the Nancy Drew Files.  I clicked on the listing since the books looked as if they were hardcover. 

Remember to click or tap on photos to see them at a higher resolution.

I checked my list and found that #67 Nobody's Business was one of the 12 books that I needed in hardcover.  I then looked at the bottom edge of #47 Flirting with Danger.  It appeared to me that the book had a dust jacket.  Ooh.  I am very fortunate to have some Nancy Drew Girl Detective books rebound in that fashion.

I zoomed in on the seller's photo, and it looked like all five books had dust jackets.  Not only would I obtain one of the 12 hardcover books that I needed, I would also end up with a set of five books in a special format that I love.

The books arrived yesterday, and as expected, they have dust jackets.  The jackets are the original covers from the softcover books before they were rebound.  Each cover was removed from the text block.  The text block was rebound in a plain hardcover binding.  The cover was then turned into a jacket by attaching Tyvek paper to each end of the cover in order to create the flaps that would tuck inside the book.  

The library put the jackets in mylar covers which were then glued to the inside front and back covers of the books.  The library stickers were placed on the outside of the mylar covers (Yay!).  When I received the books, the glue attaching the jackets to the books had already failed.  It was very easy to remove the jackets from the books and then remove the dirty, yellowed, and scratched mylar covers.

The original covers, now dust jackets, are still shiny and just have some scattered minor imperfections.

I love this style, and I will be keeping all five books, even though four of them are titles that I already have in hardcover.

I am now down to needing just 11 of the Nancy Drew Files books in hardcover.

 70.  Cutting Edge
 85.  Sea of Suspicion
 91.  If Looks Could Kill
 92.  My Deadly Valentine
 98.  Island of Secrets
115.  Running into Trouble
118.  Betrayed by Love
120.  Dangerous Loves
122.  Strange Memories
123.  Wicked for the Weekend
124.  Crime at the Chat Cafe

Just 12 More Hardcover Nancy Drew Files Needed

These are my previous posts on this topic.

Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions
My Progress on My Set of Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions

I decided around five years ago to build a set of the Nancy Drew Files in hardcover library bindings.  I have made amazing progress.  In my last update, I reported that I was down to needing just 18 titles.

In March, I found a copy of #93 Hotline to Danger.

This month, I spotted a bulk lot of Nancy Drew books that contained high-numbered hardcover Nancy Drew Files, some of which I needed. 

I acquired these books.

 99.  The Cheating Heart
101.  The Picture of Guilt
105.  Stolen Affections
109.  Love Notes
117.  Skipping a Beat

These purchases bring me down to needing just 12 titles in hardcover.

 67.  Nobody's Business
 70.  Cutting Edge
 85.  Sea of Suspicion
 91.  If Looks Could Kill
 92.  My Deadly Valentine
 98.  Island of Secrets
115.  Running into Trouble
118.  Betrayed by Love
120.  Dangerous Loves
122.  Strange Memories
123.  Wicked for the Weekend
124.  Crime at the Chat Cafe

I have been working on the hardcover Nancy Drew Files set for only around five years.  That I am down to needing just 12 books in hardcover astonishes me.  I haven't been trying hard to find them.  I keep my eyes open and check any listings that I spot to see if I need any.  I have not been running searches for individual titles or doing anything special at all.  This set is proving to be much easier to build than my set of hardcover Nancy Drew Digest books.

I had been searching for the Nancy Drew Digest books in hardcover for 16 years before I came down to needing only around a dozen titles.  It took me a full 20 years to finish the set.  It should be noted that I worked very hard on that set, particularly for the last five years that I searched.

It doesn't look like I will need 20 years to build the Nancy Drew Files set in hardcover, since I am already down to needing just 12 titles.  Timing has a lot to do with it.  I think if I would have started looking for the Nancy Drew Files in hardcover some 20 years ago that it would have taken me 20 years to build the set.  The reason is because far more of the books have been discarded by libraries now than had been discarded 20 years ago.  The books are now somewhat easier to find.

I decided soon after I started on the Nancy Drew Files set in hardcover that I was not going to keep my softcover set.  I just don't have room, and the Nancy Drew Files series is not important enough to my collection for me to want to have two sets of the books.

These pictures show my set of Nancy Drew Files books.  Most of the books are now hardcover with 12 books in softcover mixed in.  Click on each image in order to see it clearly.

My Progress on My Set of Hardcover Nancy Drew Files Books

In 2019, I wrote about my decision to begin working on a set of the Nancy Drew Files books in hardcover library editions.  I started working on the set in around 2017.  

Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions

In that post, I mentioned that I dislike oversized books, so I have avoided the first 10 Nancy Drew Files in hardcover as issued by Grey Castle Press.  I am seeking hardcover library editions, which are approximately the size of the original softcover books.

When I wrote that post in 2019, I had managed to acquire 54 of the books in hardcover.  It was a decent start, but I had quite a ways to go.  I added some books to my set in 2020, but not that many.  In late 2021, I finally had some amazing luck in acquiring many of the hardcover library editions.

I purchased a large bulk lot of hardcover Nancy Drew Files in December.  This next photo shows an example of what the spines looked like when the books arrived.  

Remember to click on each image in order to view it at a higher resolution.

The spines had red paint at the top plus two library stickers.  I wanted those stickers off, especially the greenish blue ones.  I removed the library stickers to discover that on many of the books the library had cut a previous library sticker out of the spine, leaving a hole.  While I didn't want the library stickers on the books, I also didn't want holes in the spines.

The obvious solution was to put library stickers back on the books.  I could have purchased any cheap white sticker, but I wanted acid-free stickers so that they wouldn't yellow within a few years.  I also liked the idea of having authentic library stickers on the books.  Therefore, I purchased library stickers from Demco as well as tape that would be the right width to cover the stickers.

The spines look much better with library stickers on them.  I positioned the stickers exactly where the holes were.

I purchased some additional hardcover Nancy Drew Files books in early January.

I now need just 18 Nancy Drew Files in hardcover.

 67.  Nobody's Business

 70.  Cutting Edge

 85.  Sea of Suspicion

 91.  If Looks Could Kill

 92.  My Deadly Valentine

 93.  Hotline to Danger

 98.  Island of Secrets

 99.  The Cheating Heart

101.  The Picture of Guilt

105.  Stolen Affections

109.  Love Notes

115.  Running into Trouble

117.  Skipping a Beat

118.  Betrayed by Love

120.  Dangerous Loves

122.  Strange Memories

123.  Wicked for the Weekend

124.  Crime at the Chat Cafe

I am replacing my softcover books with the hardcover books due to lack of space.  I don't like the Nancy Drew Files books enough to want to keep both formats, so this was an easy decision.

Here is my set, which now consists of mostly hardcover books with 18 softcover books mixed in.

Nancy Drew Files Hardcover Library Editions

In the last couple of years, I decided to begin working on a set of the Nancy Drew Files in hardcover library editions.  Library editions are books that were rebound in a hardcover library binding.  All of the Nancy Drew Files library editions were once softcover books.

These books should not be confused with the set of 10 Nancy Drew Files books that were issued in a large format hardcover edition by Grey Castle Press.  Some of you will be surprised to learn that I have no interest in the books issued by Grey Castle Press.  I dislike books that are much larger than other similar books.  For the same reason, I do not collect some international edition Nancy Drew books that are quite large in format.  It's just an oddity I have.  Each of us has certain odd habits with respect to collecting, and often those odd habits make no sense to anyone else.

I want my Nancy Drew Files hardcover books to be the same size as the paperback books, so I have to go with the books rebound as hardcover books.

I recently added six hardcover Nancy Drew Files books to my set.

The books are in rough shape with lots of wear and tear.  My purpose when collecting library editions is simply to get a copy of each book.  I have to accept many books in rough shape.  When collecting library editions, one must expect a significant percentage of the books to be in rough shape.

I now have 54 of the 124 Nancy Drew Files books in hardcover.