I can't seem to get off this Nancy Drew topic. Talking to my aunt last week made me wonder what mint-condition vintage Nancy Drew books might be worth. A visit to abebooks.com yielded some surprises. Currently for sale: a first edition of The Password to Larkspur Lane (1933), in dust jacket, for sale for $6500. Now, there's no guarantee it will sell at that price. But that's what the dealer is asking. The copy is described as in "very good" condition, which any collector will tell you is quite different from "mint" or "as new" or "fine."
The next most expensive Nancy Drew for sale right now is a first edition of The Clue in the Diary (1932), also in "very good" condition, for $2500.
I wondered if I would find any Nancy Drews claiming to be signed by the author, since Carolyn Keene didn't actually exist. I didn't find any, but I did find a book signed by Mildred Wirt, one of several authors who used the Keene pseudonym. She published, under her own name, Ruth Darrow in the Fire Patrol (1930), and there's a signed copy available for $650 right now.
as a longtime sereis book colelctor, I can tell you that anyone who would pay $6500 for that book needs serioius help. Most colectors go by David Farah's guide topricing Nancy Drews. Actually, a first edition of the clue in the diary (with blank endpapers, with book andcoverin near mint condition would be more likely to bring in the $6500
Posted by: Toni | February 20, 2013 at 06:13 AM
Thanks for leading me to Farah's guide! I hadn't realized it existed.
Posted by: Jessy Randall | February 20, 2013 at 03:50 PM