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Detective Book Club oddity



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 16th 07, 04:15 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
Jim[_2_]
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Posts: 39
Default Detective Book Club oddity

I picked up today a "collector's item" published by the Detective Book
Club (aka Walter Black, Roslyn, NY). It was one of their three-in-one
mystery collections, but bound in a heavy blue leather or leatherette,
with gilt ends and a ribbon marker. The three books a

- Erle Stanley Gardner, THE CASE OF THE EMPTY TIN
- Agatha Christie, EVIL UNDER THE SUN
- The Lockridges, A PINCH OF POISON

The three novels were orignally publshed in 1941, but their copyrights
are all listed as renewed in 1969, which is when I assume this book
comes from. There's a limitation page which says "Copy 142 of 170
copies."

There's nothing else in or on the book to indicate why this elaborate
production. Any ideas?

  #2  
Old May 29th 07, 05:17 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
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Posts: 80
Default Detective Book Club oddity

Jim wrote:
I picked up today a "collector's item" published by the Detective Book
Club (aka Walter Black, Roslyn, NY). It was one of their three-in-one
mystery collections, but bound in a heavy blue leather or leatherette,
with gilt ends and a ribbon marker. The three books a

- Erle Stanley Gardner, THE CASE OF THE EMPTY TIN
- Agatha Christie, EVIL UNDER THE SUN
- The Lockridges, A PINCH OF POISON

The three novels were orignally publshed in 1941, but their copyrights
are all listed as renewed in 1969, which is when I assume this book
comes from. There's a limitation page which says "Copy 142 of 170
copies."

There's nothing else in or on the book to indicate why this elaborate
production. Any ideas?


As I said over in the flames-trolls-n-spammers thread this isn't my
field, but it does seem as if Walter Black do a lot of limited
leather-bound editions. For example, the following Zane Grey works all
came out in that form:

- The Light of Western Stars
- The Rainbow Trail and The Desert Crucible (the Walter lack edition is
bound as Horse Heaven Hill)
- Mysterious Rider
- The Thundering Herd
- The Vanishing American
(http://www.zgws.org/zgfechrono.html)

The website doesn't give any dates for any of these editions. The same
site also lists later Zane Grey from the 1970s in Walter Black editions
(The Wolf Tracker, The Camp Robber and Other Stories, Angler's
Eldorado), but they are glassine and not limited.

I don't know if that's any help, but that's all I've managed to find so
far. If Bob Finnan will stop flogging dead horses over in the
Chrodspeller thread, he may be better able to help than I am.


John
  #3  
Old May 29th 07, 02:44 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
RF
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Posts: 1,802
Default Detective Book Club oddity

On May 15, 11:15 pm, Jim wrote:
I picked up today a "collector's item" published by the Detective Book
Club (aka Walter Black, Roslyn, NY). It was one of their three-in-one
mystery collections, but bound in a heavy blue leather or leatherette,
with gilt ends and a ribbon marker. The three books a

- Erle Stanley Gardner, THE CASE OF THE EMPTY TIN
- Agatha Christie, EVIL UNDER THE SUN
- The Lockridges, A PINCH OF POISON

The three novels were orignally publshed in 1941, but their copyrights
are all listed as renewed in 1969, which is when I assume this book
comes from. There's a limitation page which says "Copy 142 of 170
copies."


1969 is 28 years from 1941. At that time copyrights had to be renewed
after 28 years, so the 1969 date probably isn't the date of
publication.




  #4  
Old May 29th 07, 04:51 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
Jim[_2_]
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Posts: 39
Default Detective Book Club oddity

On May 29, 9:44 am, RF wrote:

1969 is 28 years from 1941. At that time copyrights had to be renewed
after 28 years, so the 1969 date probably isn't the date of
publication.


Well, checking these titles on bookfinder, I come up with an ordinary
Detective Book Club edition as well, which leads me to assume that
1969 (or 1970) *is* the date of publication. Not that I've followed
the series particularly, but my impression was that the titles were
always contemporary mysteries, and I'm wondering why, after 28--or
even 35--years, they should do this volume.

I have seen the fancier Zane Greys, but have never opened one to see
if it actually had a limitation page inserted.

  #5  
Old May 29th 07, 06:37 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
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Posts: 80
Default Detective Book Club oddity

Jim wrote:

Well, checking these titles on bookfinder, I come up with an
ordinary Detective Book Club edition as well, which leads me
to assume that 1969 (or 1970) *is* the date of publication.


I'm not sure why you think that. If a book carries a copyright but no
publication date then, unless there is other evidence to pin down the
date of publication, all one can assume is that it was published on or
after the copyright date.

my impression was that the titles were always contemporary
mysteries, and I'm wondering why, after 28--or even 35--years,
they should do this volume.


That Zane Grey website has a lot of info on Walter Black. Apparently
they did a lot of reprints of Zane Grey material during the 1960s:

The Walter J. Black Editions were reprints of seventy-three of
Zane Grey's titles with one additional title appearing as a First
Edition. The series also included a biography of Zane Grey.
Produced in the 1960's, they were bound in red and tan cloth and
originally came in a rice paper cover.

(http://www.zgws.org/black.html)

It goes on to discuss the value of these editions (most of them are of
little value, but there are one or two exceptions).

So Walter Black were reprinting Zane Grey stuff in the 1960s and several
of these reprints (according to http://www.zgws.org/zgfechrono.html)
were limited "leatherette" editions. It's not unreasonable to suppose
that they were reprinting other material from decades earlier and that
some of that, too, came out in limited editions with a leather binding.

John
  #6  
Old May 30th 07, 03:37 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
Jim[_2_]
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Posts: 39
Default Detective Book Club oddity

On May 29, 1:37 pm, "John R. Yamamoto-Wilson"
wrote:

So Walter Black were reprinting Zane Grey stuff in the 1960s and several
of these reprints (according tohttp://www.zgws.org/zgfechrono.html)
were limited "leatherette" editions. It's not unreasonable to suppose
that they were reprinting other material from decades earlier and that
some of that, too, came out in limited editions with a leather binding.


The Detective Book Club, as far as I can see, was never a reprint
series (unlike Black's Readers Service or Classics Club). The three
books that appeared in each month's volume (if they were monthly; I
don't even know) were always "current" mysteries, recently published.
None of them that I have bears an actual publication date, just the
copyrights for the individual novels.

Yes, the limited edition could have been done at any time, but the
existence of ordinary members' copies makes me believe they were
issued close together. I can't imagine them doing an ordinary member
edition in (say) 1970, and then a limited edition in (say) 1985. And
what possessed them to reprint these three novels at that time? And
while I'm asking rhetorical questions, how limited were the Zane Grey
"limited" editions? (Were they numbered? I can't locate one on
Bookfinder to check...)

But yes, it's all supposition, since--unlike the Zane Grey page--there
seems to be no site or documentation on the Detective Book Club.


  #7  
Old May 30th 07, 01:34 PM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
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Posts: 46
Default Detective Book Club oddity

Jim wrote:

The Detective Book Club, as far as I can see, was never a reprint
series (unlike Black's Readers Service or Classics Club). The three
books that appeared in each month's volume (if they were monthly; I
don't even know) were always "current" mysteries, recently published.
None of them that I have bears an actual publication date, just the
copyrights for the individual novels.

Yes, the limited edition could have been done at any time, but the
existence of ordinary members' copies makes me believe they were
issued close together. I can't imagine them doing an ordinary member
edition in (say) 1970, and then a limited edition in (say) 1985. And
what possessed them to reprint these three novels at that time? And
while I'm asking rhetorical questions, how limited were the Zane Grey
"limited" editions? (Were they numbered? I can't locate one on
Bookfinder to check...)

But yes, it's all supposition, since--unlike the Zane Grey page--there
seems to be no site or documentation on the Detective Book Club.


One of the great living treasures of the bookcollecting world is Steve
Trussel and, no, he doesn't quite fill the gap you note. However, he does
have a page on 2- and 3-in-one Detective Book Club editions of Maigret,
which seems to bear out your observation:

http://www.trussel.com/maig/wjb.htm

As far as I could see, all the Walter Black Maigret was published fairly
shortly after it originally appeared in English translation.

I found one or two listings online as well, such as this one -
http://biblion.co.uk/books/69411.html - which seems to be "current", but you
could probably get a better idea by chcking through the ABE listings to see
whether there are any exceptions listed there.

John

  #8  
Old May 31st 07, 01:28 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
Francis A. Miniter
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Posts: 131
Default Detective Book Club oddity

John R. Yamamoto-Wilson wrote:

Jim wrote:

Well, checking these titles on bookfinder, I come up with an
ordinary Detective Book Club edition as well, which leads me
to assume that 1969 (or 1970) *is* the date of publication.



I'm not sure why you think that. If a book carries a copyright but no
publication date then, unless there is other evidence to pin down the
date of publication, all one can assume is that it was published on or
after the copyright date.

my impression was that the titles were always contemporary
mysteries, and I'm wondering why, after 28--or even 35--years,
they should do this volume.



That Zane Grey website has a lot of info on Walter Black. Apparently
they did a lot of reprints of Zane Grey material during the 1960s:

The Walter J. Black Editions were reprints of seventy-three of
Zane Grey's titles with one additional title appearing as a First
Edition. The series also included a biography of Zane Grey.
Produced in the 1960's, they were bound in red and tan cloth and
originally came in a rice paper cover.

(http://www.zgws.org/black.html)

It goes on to discuss the value of these editions (most of them are of
little value, but there are one or two exceptions).

So Walter Black were reprinting Zane Grey stuff in the 1960s and several
of these reprints (according to http://www.zgws.org/zgfechrono.html)
were limited "leatherette" editions. It's not unreasonable to suppose
that they were reprinting other material from decades earlier and that
some of that, too, came out in limited editions with a leather binding.

John


Today I came across a learthette bound book from Walter Black. This was the
"Works of Tolstoi" bearing a copyright of 1928 (presumably for the translation).
But the condition of the book looked much more recent than 1928.


Francis A. Miniter
  #9  
Old May 31st 07, 02:11 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
John R. Yamamoto-Wilson
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Posts: 46
Default Detective Book Club oddity

Francis A. Miniter wrote:

Today I came across a learthette bound book from Walter Black. This was
the "Works of Tolstoi" bearing a copyright of 1928 (presumably for the
translation). But the condition of the book looked much more recent than
1928.


Interesting. I notice the copyright date they used on their Maigret titles
was the date of the original, rather than the date of the translation.
Anyway, the thing about reprint companies like this is that, since they
generally don't give a printing date and only use a copyright date, it's
well-nigh impossible to pin down the exact date of publication.

How do/did Walter Black distribute? This series is a "book club", so I'm
guessing it would be a subscription thing, right? If so, then these
leatherette and/or limited editions might have been special offers to
members, or inducements to become a member. They might have chosen their
most popular title(s) for this treatment, hence the OP's "vintage" volume in
a series of "current" mystery stories.

John

  #10  
Old May 31st 07, 04:49 AM posted to rec.collecting.books
Jim[_2_]
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Posts: 39
Default Detective Book Club oddity

On May 30, 8:28 pm, "Francis A. Miniter"
wrote:

Today I came across a learthette bound book from Walter Black. This was the
"Works of Tolstoi" bearing a copyright of 1928 (presumably for the translation).
But the condition of the book looked much more recent than 1928.


That would be a "Reader's Service" volume, I bet. The ordinary ones
were red, and the fancy ones (which you saw) a cream-colored binding,
if I recall.

You didn't happen to notice anything indicating it was "limited" in
any way, did you?

 




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