Nancy Drew Wanderer Hardcover Book Find Part 2

I wrote about my purchase of four Nancy Drew hardcover Wanderer editions with dust jackets on eBay.  This post is a continuation of that topic.

As I mentioned, collectors would prefer to have first printing books with white paper that are not library discards and are in excellent condition.  Since the first printing Wanderer books tend not to have white paper, collectors must make a decision about what is most important.  The preference for books that are not library discards outweighs all other considerations.

I had originally intended to swap the jackets on #75 The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery, keeping my jacket with the new book, since my book is a library discard.  I realized that my jacket is slightly faded, while the new jacket with the hard crease at the top is not faded at all.  Uh-oh.

I first ironed the new jacket on very low heat.  I only iron jackets in special situations like this one, and the process is always stressful, since much could go wrong very easily. I place paper on either side of the jacket and only have the iron on a small area and just briefly.  I did get the jacket to lay somewhat more flat, even though the crease will remain.

I took the book and placed it in my book press in the following fashion in order to force the outer spine to lay more flat.

I left it for over a week.  I did improve the upper spine, although it is still not even.  My old jacket has lots of surface impact marks.  Someone must have taken a pen to the mylar-enclosed jacket and scribbled over the front cover many times, since the jacket shows all of those indentations.  That made me decide to keep the new creased jacket along with the bumped book.  A creased jacket without the other flaws is better than the one I had.  Unfortunately, even my new jacket can still use an upgrade.

My old #75 is the first printing with yellowed paper and is a library discard.  My new #75 is the second printing with white paper and is not a library discard.  I have downgraded from a first printing to a second printing but upgraded the condition.

My old #60 is a library discard with very light wear.  It has the library pocket, so even with very light wear, the pocket decreases the desirability significantly among collectors.  The jacket has light wear but does have some surface impact marks.  The book is the first printing with yellowed paper.

My new #60 is not a library discard.  The jacket and book are in close to "as new" condition.  The book has a price written inside.  The book is the third printing with white paper.  Again, I have downgraded from a first printing to a third printing but upgraded the condition.

Both copies of #67 are first printings with yellowed paper.  My old book is a library discard while the new book is not.  My old #67 has moderate wear, and the jacket has surface impact marks.  My new #67 is in the same condition as #60 described above, which makes it an upgrade.

My old #70 is the second printing with slightly yellowed paper.  It is a library discard that has a very nice jacket with minor surface impact marks.  My new #70 is also the second printing, but the paper is slightly more yellowed.  It is not a library discard, and both the book and jacket are in close to "as new" condition.  I have downgraded to a book with slightly more yellowed paper, but otherwise, the book is an upgrade.

I decided to keep all four new books and all four new jackets, even though not all of the new books are first printings.  Here is a group photo showing my old books on the left and my new books on the right.

You can see that the condition of the books on the left is noticeably worse than the ones on the right, even though the books on the left are in great shape overall for library discards.  I have upgraded my Wanderer books and jackets so many times that I have lost count.  I have also swapped out dust jackets a number of times as well in order to keep a library discard book with less wear and match it with a better jacket from a library discard book that had more wear.  The desire has always been to have a book with as little wear as possible paired with a jacket with as little wear as possible that also does not have a library sticker on the spine. 

Here are some photos comparing the old and new books and jackets.  For each book, the first photo is of the old book and jacket, and the second photo is of the new book and jacket.  You will not notice much visible difference in the condition of the jackets, since the main difference has to do with the absence of the many surface impact marks in the new jackets.

I also photographed all of the jackets so that you can see the variances in the back panels, including codes and other information.  If I wished to be obsessive, I could convince myself to keep the variants.  However, I will not be keeping the extras.

This experience has caused me to re-evaluate what I think the Wanderer books and jackets are worth.  Since I have dealt primarily in library discards over the years, my opinion has always been that #57-60 or so are worth less than $20 and that the other titles are worth up to $50, depending upon which title and the condition of the jacket.  Library discards that have jackets without library stickers are valued at the top end of the range, and library discards with stickers on the jackets are valued less.  The more wear to the books and jackets, the less they are worth.

If I consider library discards to be worth up to $50, then books that are not library discards and are in "as new" condition must be worth considerably more.  I don't think it would be a stretch to say that #57-75 in that sort of condition are worth $75 to $100 each.  #76 and #77 would likely be worth $100 to $150 each.  #78 is worth whatever one is willing to pay.  I've always considered it to be worth more than $200.  I paid close to $300 for mine.

I can only recall seeing #78 twice on eBay in the last 15 years.  One time was in a complete set of Wanderer hardcover editions.  The books in that set were not library discards and appeared to be in close to "as new" condition.  That set sold for approximately $1,000, and this was at least 10 years ago.  The other time I saw #78 was probably during the same time period in an auction for a library discard in rough shape.  I believe it may have sold for around $50.  I did not bid on that auction, and as many years passed with none coming up for sale, I realized that I should have gone for it.

I have discussed the Wanderer hardcover editions with a few collectors in recent weeks.  One collector wondered whether it is just a few of us who value the books so highly and wondered whether the books are really worth what a few of us think they are worth.  Certainly, only some collectors would be willing to pay high prices.  I contend that since most all collectors who desire these books wish to avoid library discards, the ones that are not library discards are worth far more, especially if in "as new" condition.

Last, I believe the seller may have made a mistake by using the fixed-price format.  One collector expressed disappointment that he missed out on the books, and I suspect that some of you may feel the same way after reading through all of this.  If the seller had used the auction format and had the opening bid prices placed at the Buy It Now amounts of $40 to $65, I believe that at least some of the books might have sold for higher prices.  We'll never know.

Nancy Drew Wanderer Hardcover Book Find Part 1

Last month, I happened to notice some Nancy Drew Wanderer hardcover editions with dust jackets around three hours after the seller listed the books in fixed-price listings on eBay.  This is the group picture of the books that the seller placed in each listing.

The seller also included photos of each book and jacket in each listing.  The seller did not state that the books were not library discards, but it was safe to assume that the books had never been in libraries.

The jackets appeared to be in outstanding condition, and the books appeared to be for the most part in the same condition.  Both the jacket and book for The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery were severely bumped at the top edge.  One of the Hardy Boys books was warped.

The seller's prices ranged from $40 to $65 per book.

Nancy Drew #60 - $50
Nancy Drew #67 - $65
Nancy Drew #68 - $65
Nancy Drew #70 - $65
Nancy Drew #74 - $50 (later reduced to $40)
Nancy Drew #75 - $40
Nancy Drew #77 - $65

The seller also had the following two Hardy Boys books, which were not of interest to me.

Hardy Boys #83 - $40
Hardy Boys #85 - $60

The prices were a little high for my taste, but I knew that some of the Nancy Drew books would be upgrades.  I got out my books and compared them carefully to these books.  I determined that #68, 74, and 77 would not be upgrades, so I removed those books from consideration. 

Another problem was that several of these books were not first printings, but mine were.  My books were library discards, but these were not.  These were obviously in better condition than mine.  I decided that I wanted to purchase #67 and #70 for sure.

I next looked at #60.  I did not like the $50 price, because #60 is one of the easier titles to find.  However, it is only easier to find as a library discard.  This book was not a library discard.  Therefore, I would be silly to pass on it when the book would be a significant upgrade, albeit a later printing than mine.  I decided to purchase #60.

Finally, I looked at #75.  I decided that I could swap books and jackets, keeping my jacket with that book.  I didn't like the bumped area, but a book in excellent condition that was not a library discard was still better than mine, even with a bumped upper spine.

I ended up purchasing #60, 67, 70, and 75.  The two Hardy Boys books sold that same day to two other people, probably both Hardy Boys collectors.  Nancy Drew #68 and #77 sold the next day.  It took awhile for #74 to sell, and the seller lowered the price of it before it sold.

When I received my books in the mail, I was extremely pleased with the condition.  As expected, the books are not library discards and are all in excellent condition, with the exception of #75.  The jackets are in outstanding condition and could be classified in "as new" condition, with the exception of #75.

Next, I had to make a decision about the books and jackets.  The first printing Wanderer books tend to have yellowed paper.  The later printing Wanderer books tend to have excellent quality white paper that has not even slightly yellowed.  The later printing books are actually nicer than the first printing books.

I asked on my Facebook page soon after receiving these books what others thought about what was most important about the Wanderer hardcover books.  I already knew that others' responses would probably support my own beliefs, but I wanted to see what they would say.  I asked what was most important from the following options.

a) first printing with yellowed paper
or
b) later printing with white paper

c) first printing in very good condition
or
d) later printing in close to "as new" condition

e) first printing in a library discard
or
f) later printing not from a library

The consensus was that b, d, and f are more important with f the most important by far.  This matches my feelings on the subject.  Of course, if one could have a book that has white paper, is a first printing, is in excellent condition, and is not a library discard, that would be the most optimal.  The trouble is that first printings of the Wanderer books usually do not have white paper, so in most cases, that combination is impossible.  We have to make concessions.

This topic is growing quite long, so I will continue in my next blog post. 

Nancy Drew Wanderer Hardcover Editions with Dust Jackets

The format of the Nancy Drew series switched to softcover with the publication of #57. A small number of the Wanderer editions, #57-78, were printed in hardcover with dust jacket. The hardcover books were sold through mail order, mostly to libraries. Probably 80-90% of the books were sold to libraries, so most examples that surface are library discards. As collectors know, most library discards tend to be in rough shape.

I have been working on a set of these books since the late 1990s. The goal is to have all of #57-78 in hardcover with dust jacket and for the books not to be library discards. This is nearly an impossible goal.

I have upgraded my books many times. The first goal was to get any copy with a dust jacket. I recall one book that had a severe spine slant, so severe that it was more like the severe spine roll of a softcover book. That book had very heavy wear. The dust jacket was present, but tattered. I upgraded it to a more respectable copy with at least moderate wear, and then probably upgraded it again one or two times. I have upgraded these books so many times that I have lost track of how many copies have passed through my hands.

The Wanderer hardcover editions are not equally scarce. The lower-numbered titles are not that difficult to acquire. #57 to around #63 are fairly easy to acquire. #64 through #75 are moderately difficult to acquire. #76 and #77 are quite scarce, and #78 can be considered rare.

The Hardy Boys Wanderer books were also published in hardcover with dust jacket, although I do not collect those. I have collected the two Nancy Drew Ghost Stories titles as well as the two Super Sleuths! titles. The Ghost Stories and Super Sleuths books have about the same scarcity as #76 and #77.

I believe that the Camp Fire Stories book also exists in hardcover with dust jacket, as I seem to recall seeing it on eBay once, and it has the approximate scarcity of #78.

I have had #57-77 for years, but #78 continued to elude me. I decided long ago how much I would bid if #78 were to appear on eBay. To me the book as a library discard in decent condition is worth $100 to $200. In excellent condition, I would bid $300 or more.

Recently, another collector directed my attention to a pricey listing for what appeared to be a hardcover edition of #78 with a dust jacket. The book was priced at $275, which is within what the book is worth to me. My main concern was the lack of a picture and the possibility of the book not being what the seller stated.

The seller did not have the book identified as a Nancy Drew book. Only the title, Phantom of Venice, was given.

I could have inquired, but I decided that the book had to be what it appeared to be. I checked the ISBN, and sure enough, that is the ISBN for Nancy Drew #78 in the hardcover edition.

I found the same listing on the Advanced Book Exchange. I purchased the book there, since I have an account on ABE. I was encouraged by the seller's low rate of returns and canceled orders. I selected priority mail, because I wanted to see the book fast. I received the book, and it was what I expected.

The book is not a library discard. The pages are white, and the book is in excellent condition. The dust jacket has some wear at the spine ends, but it is in excellent condition as well.

I noticed that the jacket has a sticker over the ISBN.

The ISBN that is covered by the sticker is the ISBN for #77. I checked my jacket for #77, and it also has a sticker covering the ISBN. The ISBN underneath the sticker on #77 is the ISBN for #78.

A collector who ordered all of the hardcover editions as they were released stated that he had trouble acquiring the last two titles due to a change in the ISBNs. I wonder whether the change in the ISBNs is part of the reason for the scarcity of these final titles. Of course we all know that the final titles in any format tend to be the scarcest, but #78 is far beyond the scarcity of the other titles. #76 and #77 are also far more scarce than the other titles, although not as scarce as #78.

This is my set of Wanderer hardcover editions with dust jackets.

#57, 58, 61, 62, 63, 65, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, Ghost Stories, Super Sleuths!, and Super Sleuths! 2 are not library discards. #59, 60, 64, 66, 67, 70, 75, 76, and Ghost Stories 2 are library discards. Despite the number of upgrades, I still have quite a few books that are library discards.

The books that are library discards have light wear and are in above average condition for library discards. Just one jacket, #66, has an obvious sign of having had a library sticker on it. It is unfaded where the library sticker was positioned. Otherwise, the jackets are in nice shape.

In quite a few cases, I have switched books and jackets when I have found a library discard with a jacket for which I was able to remove the library sticker. Often, the newly acquired book was in worse condition, but since I could get the sticker off the jacket, I would keep the new jacket with my old book. 

It is of greatest importance that I have jackets that do not have library stickers on them. I am less concerned with whether the books are library discards, just as long as the jackets do not look like they are from library discards.