2 New Titles for the Collection Have Arrived + Some Thoughts

 These two beauties were added to the shelf this week.  I love them both.  This is the only copy of have the 25 chapter edition of The Mystery of Lilac Inn. It should be interesting to read for sure.  From this same Etsy seller, (Princess Lea!), I received the later edition of Password to Larkspur Lane. They are both in wonderful condition. 

Hubby and I went to a big-name book store here a while back. I saw very few of the dear friends our children loved, much less books from our generation. This was really sad. There were a few Hardy Boys, but this chain used to carry all titles from both Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys series. Very sad indeed. There was also only one of the Anne of Green Gables series in the entire store; only one of the Redwall series. They had a HUGE section of supernatural books for young people and romance for the same age. It is not romance. Just very, very sad.  The gentleman that is always at the check-out is very worldly. He is about our age. We hear lots of colorful language and worldy talk as he engages with the customers. Where are we headed? 

I am reading a book that belonged to our daughter, and I am not sure she read it. It is called Understood Betsy. I think we bought it believing it belonged to the Carolyn Heywood Betsy series that she read. But it is its own book. I would like to write an entry on this blog about it soon, and an entry about the sweet mysteries by Helen Fuller Orton. Virginia read several of those, and I am tryiny to collect a few more. 

Til then . . .

OH MY! The Game is HERE!

Oh my goodness! This treausre arrived safe and sound despite taking several detours courteous of the chaotic mail distribution malestrom known as Palmetto.  LOL

Please forgive the staging of this photo. Time is not on my side as I hurriedly post this with a photo I took earlier in the week.  I will try to take a better pic later. All of the pieces are there and carefully wrapped for safe travel. I am overwhelmed. 

I will try to have some new photos mid-week. I think the fellas in the house will play with me. 

A Good Nancy Week

 

Well, I took the plunge and ordered this game from Etsy. I put it on one the interest free monthly installment plans. LOL  This is very exciting.

I also received several missing volumes in the Nancy Drew and Dana Girls collections.  

The shelf is getting full  fuller. 

WOWOWOW! Nancy is Here!

 What's New at Drew Hall, part 2

The book next to the left of the Clock is not a book at all!

It's Nancy!

There are several of these little models (my daughter called it an "action figure"! I loved that). They run about $30 a piece so I think that this will be the only one I need. Each model is fashioned after a book title and cover. I think they are very popular with the Nancy Drew Collectors.

This has also been an exciting week as it relates to ordering missing volumes for the collection. 

An Etsy seller in California has sooooo much of these. She seems to have a strong command of the different series in terms of knowing all about them, and also a very impressive amount of books to sell.  I found quite a few of the missing Dana Girls as well as some ND's I needed.

I noted something interesting, and my friend on Etsy confirmed it. The Mystery of Lilac Inn does not have a 25 chapter yellow spine edition or cover. The yellow spine edition is one cover with 20 chapters. She will be looking for an early pre-yellow spine edition for me. It will be interesting to read for sure. 

In any case, this is a wonderful ongoing project. 

My understanding is that these books became free domain recently.  The grandchildren of the Author of the Happy Hollisters, Jerry Svenson (aka Jerry West) are now selling the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew editions.  They are keeping these marvelous works extant for future generations. They have a subscription service for these books and The Happy Hollisters AND they sell these treasures at homeschool fairs.  My heart is full.  

We went to Books-A-Million the other day. Book stores have changed so much, and in many ways, we no longer feel at home in them. HOWEVER, I was pleased to see they had some Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew titles. 

Nancy and the Hardys are kind, well-meaning, honest, and respectful toward their parents.

The same is true of the Hollisters.  

They offer wonderful examples of how to treat others, couched in thrilling adventures in an amazing variety of exciting locales. 

Thank you to those who keep these characters and values available for the kids (and adults) today.

What's New at Drew Hall

 

I believe that my daughter's gift of the Nancy Drew quilt has motivated me to be serious about my bookshelf and my collection.  I was able to track down the various yellow matte covers and make a list of those I have and don't. . This is the only title (I think) that has three covers (2 editions) in the yellow matte series.  I paid a pretty penny for the oldest edition. That lovely cover is a book cover itself. 

I bought a little light a while back. It was sitting in its box; I think I meant it for John Thomas' room. 

For now, it is in "Drew Hall." LOL

Hope you have some good time to read this week!

You Can take the Girl Out of the Library but Never the Library Out of the Girl

I have been working diligently this week to "catalog" my Nancy Drew collection, at least as far as the yellow matte editions. Each of the original titles has its own "Title card" with information as to how many yellow covers were produced. That helped me check through my collection to see what I owned and what I liked to have a complete set. What a fun adventure. Wilbur assisted me. 

What an undertaking! I kept the laundry going as you can see to assuage my guilt at doing this project instead of housework. 

I reordered my bookshelf after removing the duplicates. My goal is to have one of each cover of the yellow editions, which I learned debuted in 1962!  

My daughter has been helping me long distance with this project. I appreciate her enthusiasm. My shelf has been in disarray for a long while. I know Virginia's beautiful quilt jumpstarted my effort to get everything cataloged and in order. 

I have thought about the other series I want to catalog for my Library files--this way I can keep track of what I have vs what is in the entire collection:

1. The Hardy Boys

2. The Dana Girls

3. Cherry Ames

4. Trixie Belden

5. The Happy Hollisters

6. Robin Kane

7. Ginnie Gordon

I have all of the Trixies and Happy Hollisters, and a LOT of the Hardy Boys. Ginnie Gordon is very inportant to me because I read my mom's copy of The Mystery of the Disappearing Candlesticks before I read my first Nancy Drew.

In the Maybes: Tom Swift jr, Judy Bolton. This has just been so much fun!

 

Nancy Drew!

 

My daughter took my old collection of Moda fabric and turned it into a masterpiece. It is stunning. She is a wonderful seamstress and artisan. 

The back is a beautiful yellow in homage to the yellow matte covers we love so dearly. The blue border is a nod to the Hardy Boys and to Nancy's blue tweed covers. 

I am working on a project of cataloging and reading through my Nancy Drew, et.al. collection. I have had the little index card box below for several years, just waiting for a perfect purpose for it.

I will have sections hopefully for the following series:

Nancy Drew

The Hardy Boys

The Dana Girls

The Happy Hollisters 

Robin Kane

Trixie Belden

Miscellaneous Series entries

I am not sure my little box will hold all of that LOL!  But it will be a fun project. 

Ideally, I would have an index card for each volume with a synopsis of each title and information about what I own. 

Right now, I am reading (a second attempt) this Hardy Boys title. It is usually tapped as a favorite in polls about the series. 

It is pretty scary. 

Currently, I am listening through the Nancy's I have on Audible--those read by Laura Linney are really good. I started The Bungalow Mystery  recently. 

This is the recorded version. I would like to read the older version to see if it is a bit scarier. That's what I hear about The Hidden Staircase.

I will post a picture of the quilt when we get it displayed. It is one of the greatest presents I have ever received. Lots of hard work and love.