Collecting Stratemeyer Syndicate Books Should Be No Mystery
If I were to ask you who the 20th century’s most prolific novelists were, which names would come to mind? Isaac Asimov, the sci-fi writer with more than 400 books to his credit? Mary Faulkner, with 904 volumes published? Or L. Ron Hubbard, with a count of 1,084 fiction and non-fiction books?
How about Edward Stratemeyer? You likely don’t recognize the name, but in the early decades of the 20th century Stratemeyer—or rather his syndicate—produced more than 1,600 young adult novels with combined sales of more than 500 million copies.
In 1926, 98 percent of American children chose a Stratemeyer Syndicate book as a favorite.
Stratemeyer (1862-1930) produced such notable series as The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and 105 others. Though his first series, The Rover Boys, is believed to have been written entirely by Stratemeyer, most of his books were published using nearly 100 pseudonyms, including Franklin W. Dixon (Hardy Boys) and Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew).
Because they are seen everywhere, one would think that collecting Stratemeyer books would be as simple as walking into a book or antique store and picking up a few. But, collectors say, it’s not that easy. Over the years, Stratemeyer books have been revised numerous times to meet various publishing requirements. Sorting through the multiple pen names and revisions in order to find the valuable books is a challenge for collectors.
Stratemeyer’s personal success has the makings of a rags-to-riches story. An avid reader from an early age, Stratemeyer self-published his first story at age 14, using a printing press he had set up in the basement of his father’s tobacco shop in Elizabeth, N.J. In 1888, Stratemeyer sold his first story, “Victor Horton’s Idea,” to the children’s magazine Golden Days for $76, more than six times the average weekly paycheck.
For the next decade, Stratemeyer earned his living as a magazine writer and editor. In 1899, a terminally ill Horatio Alger hired Stratemeyer to finish several novels that he was too sick to complete. Inspired by his association with Alger, Stratemeyer wrote and published “The Rover Boys” in 1899.
An astute businessman, Stratemeyer soon realized that he could gain more market share by publishing books under many names: in theory, each author would acquire its own audience. In “Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her,” author Melanie Rehak quotes Stratemeyer on his publishing strategy:
“[a] book brought out under another name would, I feel satisfied, do better than another Stratemeyer book. If this was brought out under my own name, the trade on new Stratemeyer books would simply be cut into four parts instead of three.”
Stratemeyer’s approach was so successful that he soon had trouble keeping up with the demand for his books. So, he devised another strategy: hire ghostwriters. Stratemeyer would provide his writers with a book’s title, plot outline and character descriptions. The ghostwriters were to provide “snappy dialogue,” exposition and cliffhanger chapter endings (to keep kids turning the pages) and a book length of about 200 pages. For their service a ghostwriter would be paid a flat fee, usually the equivalent of two month’s pay for a newspaper reporter.
Often, Stratemeyer would outline an entire series of novels before the first books were even published. New series would be introduced with an initial offering of three novels, which Stratemeyer referred to as “breeders.” If sales of the breeder books hit acceptable levels, the remaining volumes in a series would be published.
In order to overcome the adult resistance to dime novels for children, Stratemeyer books were made to resemble adult books. All had hard-back bindings rather than paper, and standard-sized typefaces rather than large print. Priced higher than dime novels, Syndicate books sold for 50 cents. At the time, adult hardbacks sold for 75 cents to a dollar-twenty-five.
In 1930, Stratemeyer died. The Syndicate was inherited by his two daughters, but only the eldest, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, was interested in running the business. In 1933 she acquired sole control of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and remained active until her death in 1982. In 1987, the Syndicate was purchased by Simon & Schuster.
What happened during the Adams administration is what causes collectors so much grief. Cultural changes in the 1950s and beyond prompted Adams to update Syndicate books. The books were edited to remove outdated technology references, racial slurs and stereotypes. In some cases, entire plots were tossed out and re-written.
In addition to content issues in collectible books, the copyright pages of Stratemeyer series books were not always updated when the books were re-printed.
To sort out these issues, well-prepared collectors will be equipped with a copy of “Hardy and Hardy Investigations” by Tony Carpentieri or “Boys and Girls Book Series: Real World Adventures, Identification and Values” by Diane McClure Jones and Rosemary Jones. Any “finds” should be checked against these references to confirm publishing dates and changes. Other credible reference books include:
• “The Secret of the Stratemeyer Syndicate: Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and the Million Dollar Fiction Factory,” by Carol Billman;
• “The Secret of Collecting Girls’ Series Books,” by John Axe;
• “Farah’s Guide,” by David Farah.
The most popular of the Stratemeyer series books—The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew—are still being published. Finding first editions and/or completing a series collection is a challenging and rewarding pursuit.
Wayne Jordan is a Virginia-licensed auctioneer, Certified Personal Property Appraiser and Accredited Business Broker. He has held the professional designations of Certified Estate Specialist; Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate; Certified Auction Specialist, Residential Real Estate and Accredited Business Broker. He also has held state licenses in Real Estate and Insurance. Wayne is a regular columnist for Antique Trader Magazine, a WorthPoint Worthologist (appraiser) and the author of two books. For more info, visit SellMoreAntiques.com
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