OT Question for RF
 

There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

oly

OT Question for RF
 

"oly" wrote in message
...
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

OT Question for RF
 

On Feb 15, 6:29*pm, "RWF" wrote:
"oly" wrote in message

...

There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. *My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. *When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. *Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? *The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

Very good to know, I don't think any had DJs but I will look if he has
them next month.

oly

OT Question for RF
 

RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
...
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that lack dj.
But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues, but why do book
collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book itself? There's gotta
be some deep, philosophical, psychological cause. 'Splain that one, if you
can.

James

OT Question for RF
 

On Feb 15, 6:38*pm, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
....
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. *My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. *When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. *Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? *The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that lack dj..
But why is this? *Numismatists have their cleaning issues, but why do book
collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book itself? *There's gotta
be some deep, philosophical, psychological cause. *'Splain that one, if you
can.

James

I had a similar thought about the dust jacket making or breaking the
book - there is very little in the DJ that makes it at all valuable.

Seems a lot like the emphasis on "MIB" for toys and such.

oly

OT Question for RF
 

oly wrote:
On Feb 15, 6:38 pm, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
...
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the
late 1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that
vintage of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50
each, probably could have bought the lot for less than that per
copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that
lack dj. But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues,
but why do book collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book
itself? There's gotta be some deep, philosophical, psychological
cause. 'Splain that one, if you can.

James

I had a similar thought about the dust jacket making or breaking the
book - there is very little in the DJ that makes it at all valuable.

Seems a lot like the emphasis on "MIB" for toys and such.

Could it all stem from the hardwired, particularly male, trait to desire
"virgin" goods, whether it be a mate, a coin, a book, or any other kind of
"toy"? Removing and throwing away (gasp!) the dust jacket is sort of like a
deflowering, is it not? I was thinking more, but realize I better stop
right there.

James

OT Question for RF
 

On Feb 15, 6:56*pm, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
oly wrote:
On Feb 15, 6:38 pm, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
....
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the
late 1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that
vintage of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50
each, probably could have bought the lot for less than that per
copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that
lack dj. But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues,
but why do book collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book
itself? There's gotta be some deep, philosophical, psychological
cause. 'Splain that one, if you can.

James

I had a similar thought about the dust jacket making or breaking the
book - there is very little in the DJ that makes it at all valuable.

Seems a lot like the emphasis on "MIB" for toys and such.

Could it all stem from the hardwired, particularly male, trait to desire
"virgin" goods, whether it be a mate, a coin, a book, or any other kind of
"toy"? *Removing and throwing away (gasp!) the dust jacket is sort of like a
deflowering, is it not? *I was thinking more, but realize I better stop
right there

James- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I really think that the lack of the dust jacket (or a box, or
certificates of authenticity) is a way to politely tell a potential
seller that their stuff is very common.

I don't get deep into this psychology stuff, being reasonably warped
myself.

oly

OT Question for RF
 

"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
...
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the
late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that
vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that lack
dj. But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues, but why
do book collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book itself?
There's gotta be some deep, philosophical, psychological cause.
'Splain that one, if you can.

Why do people pay thru the nose for DJs?
In the realm of juvenile book collecting, finding books with decent DJs
is not so simple given their initial target audience.
The attrition rate among juvenile book djs is truly appalling.
As in coin collecting, condition is everything (well almost everything).
Furthermore the DJ is critical in dating the publication year of the
book (they were reprinted for years on end).
Witness the Hardy Boys: they've been in print continuously since 1927.
Nancy Drew likewise since 1930.
Early first editions with DJs are extremely valuable, going into the mid
to upper 4 figure range.
OTOH common 1950's editions with decent DJs are lucky to sell at all on
eBay.
Why do people collect juvenile series books? In part it may be an effort
to recapture pleasant moments from youth.

OT Question for RF
 

RWF wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
...
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the
late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that
vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that
lack dj. But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues,
but why do book collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book
itself? There's gotta be some deep, philosophical, psychological
cause. 'Splain that one, if you can.

Why do people pay thru the nose for DJs?
In the realm of juvenile book collecting, finding books with decent
DJs is not so simple given their initial target audience.
The attrition rate among juvenile book djs is truly appalling.
As in coin collecting, condition is everything (well almost
everything). Furthermore the DJ is critical in dating the publication
year of the book (they were reprinted for years on end).
Witness the Hardy Boys: they've been in print continuously since 1927.
Nancy Drew likewise since 1930.
Early first editions with DJs are extremely valuable, going into the
mid to upper 4 figure range.
OTOH common 1950's editions with decent DJs are lucky to sell at all
on eBay.
Why do people collect juvenile series books? In part it may be an
effort to recapture pleasant moments from youth.

Or efface bad moments from youth.

Yeah, that all makes sense, but I would think that a lot of people my (our?)
age would view 1950s editions with dj as highly desirable. Very few of us
could have afforded to put a complete set together back then, and only now
do we have the ability to do so (maybe), for a variety of reasons.

A friend of mine has the complete series of Tom Swift books, and he's in
ecstasy about it. I have no idea what vintage, or the dj situation, but I'd
guess there are more guys around like him.

Would I be correct in guessing that those early editions under dj normally
sell for more than any "price guides" might indicate?

James

OT Question for RF
 

"RWF" wrote in message
...

"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
RWF wrote:
"oly" wrote in message
...
There was a fellow who had scads of Hardy Boys (in tan-colored hard
covers) out at the flea market today. My guess is that they were
vintage 1946-1955. When I got around to reading the H.B. in the late
1960s, the covers were illustrated in color.

I've never followed these things. Is there any thing in that vintage
of H.B. that one should look for? The seller wanted $2.50 each,
probably could have bought the lot for less than that per copy.

Tan covered books without dust jackets are practically worthless.

As a bibliophile, I share the phobia about antiquarian books that lack
dj. But why is this? Numismatists have their cleaning issues, but why do
book collectors often pay more for a dj than for the book itself? There's
gotta be some deep, philosophical, psychological cause. 'Splain that one,
if you can.

Why do people pay thru the nose for DJs?

Probably they're mostly purists who insist on their edition being as issued.
Like registry set collectors. I can understand when I see penny bubble gum
card wrappers from the 1940's and 1950's selling for hundreds of dollars.
If I had saved all the discarded wrappers from the cards I bought in the
1940's alone, I could finance Ira on a coin buying spree today. I remember
the owner of the little store where we bought our cards yelling at us not to
throw all those wrappers on the ground outside his store.