Nancy Drew books are one of the most popular Children's Series Books of all time. Written by many authors under the name Carolyn Keene, this series was first published by Grosset & Dunlap. Many of the titles were written by Mildred Wirt Benson.

When you pick up a copy of a Nancy Drew book, or any Grosset & Dunlap Children's book, the copyright date on the page does not always indicate when the book was printed. Grosset & Dunlap did not change the copyright each time the book was re-printed. A better indication of the book's age is the number of titles in the series and in other book series printed inside the book, on the dustjacket, or on the back of the book (for the picture cover copies). Nancy Drew books were re-written and updated in the 1950's-1960's, so a newer copyright date on an older title can also give you an idea of when the book was printed. One of the well known authorities on Nancy Drew editions is David Farah. He writes the widely accepted guide to Nancy Drew Books. Many times you will see the "Farah's Guide" number of the book in an auction description. It indicates the year the book was printed, and the printing number of the book. So a book with a guide number of 1948A-13 was printed in 1948 and was the 13th printing of that title.

The titles printed in Hardback for the Nancy Drew Series are:

1 The Secret of the Old Clock 1930, 1959

2 The Hidden Staircase 1930, 1959

3 The Bungalow Mystery 1930, 1960

4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn 1930, 1961

5 The Secret at Shadow Ranch 1931, 1965

6 The Secret of Red Gate Farm 1931, 1961

7 The Clue in the Diary 1932, 1962

8 Nancy's Mysterious Letter 1932, 1968

9 The Sign of the Twisted Candles 1933, 1968

10 The Password to Larkspur Lane 1933, 1966

11 The Clue of the Broken Locket 1934, 1965

12 The Message in the Hollow Oak 1935, 1972

13 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm 1936, 1974

14 The Whispering Statue 1937, 1970

15 The Haunted Bridge 1937, 1972

16 The Clue of the Tapping Heels 1939, 1969

17 The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk 1940, 1976

18 The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion 1941, 1971

19 The Quest of the Missing Map 1942, 1969

20 The Clue in the Jewel Box 1943, 1972

21 The Secret in the Old Attic 1944, 1970

22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall 1945, 1973

23 The Mystery of the Tolling Bell 1946, 1973

24 The Clue in the Old Album 1947, 1977

25 The Ghost of Blackwood Hall 1948, 1967

26 The Clue of the Leaning Chimney 1949, 1967

27 The Secret of the Wooden lady 1950, 1967

28 The Clue of the Black Keys 1951, 1968

29 The Mystery at the Ski Jump 1952, 1968

30 The Clue of the Velvet Mask 1953, 1969

31 The Ringmaster's Secret 1953, 1974

32 The Scarlet Slipper Mystery 1954, 1974

33 The Witch Tree Symbol 1955, 1974

34 The Hidden Window Mystery 1956, 1975

35 The Haunted Showboat 1957

36 The Secret of the Golden Pavilion 1959

37 The Clue in the Old Stagecoach 1960

38 The Mystery of the Fire Dragon 1961 (last title to be published with a dustjacket)

39 The Clue of the Dancing Puppet 1962

40 The Moonstone Castle Mystery 1963

41 The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes 1964

42 The Phantom of Pine Hill 1965

43 The Mystery of the 99 Steps 1966

44 The Clue in the Crossword Cipher 1967

45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery 1968

46 The Invisible Intruder 1969

47 The Mysterious Mannequin 1970

48 The Crooked Banister 1971

49 The Secret of Mirror Bay 1972

50 The Double Jinx Mystery 1973

51 Mystery of the Glowing Eye 1974

52 The Secret of the Forgotten City 1975

53 The Sky Phantom 1976

54 The Strange Message in the Parchment 1977

55 Mystery of Crocodile Island 1978

56 The Thirteenth Pearl 1979

Simon and Schuster obtained the rights to the Nancy Drew series in 1979, titles since then have been in paperback and in various forms.

I have many Nancy Drew titles in my eBay store.  Bibliomaniacs eBay Store