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Collecting
Availability
Based on each section's Collector's Notes, the following is a more in depth look at what I have found to be the rarest (and many times most expensive) Three Investigators books. If a book is not in the list, it
can be assumed that it is not too difficult to acquire.
Before proceeding, however, I must
note that availability is somewhat subjective. For example, it can
often times be geographic (some regions of North America may have had higher
distribution rates than others) and sometimes it just comes down to luck.
Over the last few years, I believe that the internet has helped to diminish
these problems quite a bit, but they still do exist. Therefore, this
page is probably open to debate. It is based completely on what
I have personally found available in used book stores and online (auctions
and used book dealer networks).
The Original 43: Trade Hardcover
A First Printing variant of #23 The Mystery
of the Invisible Dog with graveyard/spiderweb endpapers is, in my opinion, the overall rarest Three Investigators book. It was most likely
a manufacturing error and I personally know of only two in existence.
The next most difficult Trade hardcover
titles to find are First Printings of #3 The Mystery of the Whispering
Mummy and #4 The Mystery of the Green Ghost (those with no back
cover list). In fact, Green Ghost's true First Printing is found so infrequently that many collectors do not know it exists and incorrectly believe
the First Printing to instead be the one with four titles listed on the
back cover.
The glossy reprints of #11 The
Mystery of the Talking Skull and #16 The Mystery of the Nervous
Lion can also take some searching to find. All of the other glossy
titles (numbers 24 - 28 and the earlier reprints) can be found without
too much trouble.
The Original 43: GLB Numbers 29 - 43
All of the numbers 29 - 43 GLB titles
can be extremely difficult to find in traditional used book stores. They are somewhat plentiful online, however, particularly
on eBay, but there tend to command high prices.
Historically, on eBay, the rarest GLB's have been #34 The Mystery of the Wandering Cave Man,
#35 The Mystery of the Kidnapped Whale and #41 The Mystery of
the Creep-Show Crooks. Unlike the last book of many other series,
#43 The Mystery of the Cranky Collector shows up quite frequently in its GLB Edition
While not quite rare overall, #29 The
Mystery of the Sinister Scarecrow and #30 The Secret of Shark Reef
tend to suffer from heavy cover wear and are very difficult to find in
very good or better condition.
The Original 43: GLB Numbers 1 - 28 with Robert Adragna Cover Art
At the present, I know of only eight GLB titles that were reprinted with Robert Adragna cover art, but more
may exist. They do not surface very often, appearing less than a dozen times a year on
eBay. Although I personally
find them fascinating additions to a Three Investigators collection, many
collectors seem to display very little interest.
The Original 43: Paperback
The white background Windward Edition
of #1 The Secret of Terror Castle and #2 The Mystery of the Stuttering
Parrot are incredibly elusive and rank at the top of the rarest Three
Investigators books. I suspect they had a very short print run, perhaps only a few thousand copies.
Other Random House paperbacks that are difficult to find are:
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many of the "Marchesi Twelve" with Robert Adragna
Cover Art
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#43 The Mystery of the Cranky Collector
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the Bullseye Edition of #36 The Mystery
of the Missing Mermaid
The Three Investigators' Book of Mystery Puzzles
Although I don't agree,
many collectors consider this the overall rarest Three Investigators book.
In any case, it is quite difficult to find, particularly in very good or
better condition with none of the puzzles worked. From August 1998
to March 2001, only nine Book of Mystery Puzzles appeared on eBay.
Prices ranged from $43.00 to $100.00, depending on condition.
Find Your Fate
The first three titles are fairly
easy to find in paperback (at very reasonable prices), but the fourth title,
#8 The Case of the Savage Statue, as well as all four in RLB Edition,
can be very difficult to acquire.
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This page last updated on 02-Sep-03
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