Book Collecting

Many writers of popular culture have speculated about the success of the Nancy Drew series. It is the longest enduring girls series by many years. The first mystery. The Secret of the Old Clock, was first published in 1930. The closest competitor in both years and popularity, Judy Bolton, lasted thirty-five years. This study concentrates …

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During the early years of the 20th century, the most popular girls’ series was Ruth Fielding by Alice B. Emerson, which lasted from 1913 to 1934 and included thirty books. This is the series that was the inspiration for all the others included in this book. Ruth Fielding was the creation of Edward Stratemeyer. Stratemeyer …

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The Hardy Boys books celebrated their Diamond Jubilee in the year 2002. The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories by Franklin W. Dixon is the first boys’ series in which the leading characters began as detectives, rather than drifting into it, as did earlier Edward Stratemeyer heroes such as the Rover Boys. Young people must have liked …

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Clair Bee’s Chip Hilton series is probably the finest boys’ books about sports ever published. They are also among the best books of all boys’ series. Surprisingly, girls also enjoyed the Chip Hilton books. Coach Clair Bee was born March 2, 1896; he died May 20, 1983. The January 7, 1980, issue of Sports Illustrated …

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From 1954 to 1978 Grosset & Dunlap published another Edward Stratemeyer series of Tom Swift books. This set was called The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures and was “by Victor Appleton II.” In the stories, Tom Jr. is the son of the original Tom Swift; the author is presumably the son of the original Victor …

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Tom Swift is one of Edward Stratemeyer’s most famous inventions. The series lasted essentially from 1910 until the mid-1990s, rivaling the Bobbsey Twins for longevity. There are five distinct sets of Tom Swift books. Tom Swift of the first series (1910 to 1941) was a teenage boy who had a tremendous knowledge of scientif­ic development …

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