Hidden Clues #4 Collecting the Entire Nancy Drew Series

A large number of Nancy Drew collectors prefer only to collect what they consider to be the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.  On this old post, I listed what I then thought were all the possibilities of what a collector might consider the original Nancy Drew books.

#1-56
#1-175
#1-34 original text only, any format
#1-34 original and revised text
#1-38 blue books with or without dust jacket
#1-34 original text only and Applewood #1-21
#1-34 original text only with original dust jacket art

I was unaware at that time that a growing number of Nancy Drew collectors consider #1-64 to be the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.  Wait, what?  Ah, these people are going by format.

Nancy Drew #57-64 were briefly issued in the flashlight edition by Penguin under the Grosset and Dunlap imprint.  In this format, #57-64 match #1-56, so quite a few collectors now think that the Nancy Drew series ended with #64.  This is not true at all.  The Nancy Drew series actually ended with #175.  All of Nancy Drew #57-175 were published by Simon and Schuster in softcover.

Apparently the flashlight edition hardcover gave legitimacy to #57-64, so people now collect those as eagerly as #1-56.  I understand the reluctance of collecting a softcover book; I once felt that way.  However, collectors who refuse to go past #64 based solely on format are missing out on some really good stories.  If you enjoy Nancy Drew #57-64, then you are making a mistake in ignoring Nancy Drew #65-175.  If you are not sure whether you want to take the plunge and collect all of them, I suggest purchasing a small sample of the books to see if you like them.  Don't ignore them just because they are softcover books.

Furthermore, do not use a format that ended at an arbitrary number to decide where to leave off in your set.  You might be aware that the Stratemeyer Syndicate created all of Nancy Drew #1-56.  The Stratemeyer Syndicate was responsible for #57-64 as well, but it was also responsible for #65-78.  If you want all books created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, then you need to collect up through #78.

In "My Thoughts on Nancy Drew #57-175," I list what I think are the very best titles in the softcover Nancy Drew series.

In "An Overview of Nancy Drew #57-175," I assign ratings to each of the books in the set.