Casting an eye over my small hardback collection,
bloggers, I’m struck by just how poor the condition of some of them, especially
the later titles, are in. Here they are,
so see what you think:
Terror Castle
Generally sound, this is, and I’m pleased to have it,
however the boards are a little bumpy at edges and there is a nasty nick on the
spine which really spoils the look of the book on the shelf.
Stuttering Parrot
Really, really nice.
Clean, square, sharp. Lovely
biscuits.
Whispering Mummy
Another really nice copy with bright boards.
Green Ghost
This is a great book that is as good as you could expect.
Vanishing Treasure
The top corner of the board is a bit bumped, otherwise
lovely.
Skeleton Island
A tidy copy let down by the light foxing to page edges.
Fiery Eye
Not a bad copy, according to the inscription, this copy was given to “Gordon” from
his own Mrs Robertson. Hem hem.
Silver Spider
Nice all the way.
Ever noticed how the chapter headings in the UK edition have a page to
themselves? I reckon probably just to
bulk out the page count.
Screaming Clock
Its fantastic, this one.
Looks as good as new.
Moaning Cave
Sticker residue, rubbing to board at bottom corner and
foxing. I could do with a fresh one of
these.
Talking Skull
You can just about make out where the old Collins price
sticker used to be on the cover. The
spine is a wee bit faded and the book looks generally “used”.
Laughing Shadow
Faded spine and brown pages. I could do with hoarding another copy of this
book. Geddit?
Crooked Cat
Again, some fading to the spine, otherwise this book
looks as new and is clearly unread.
Coughing Dragon
It took me several attempts, all documented here, to end
up with a frankily average copy. Some
knocks to boards and foxing to edges.
Flaming Footprints
This is the best book in my collection. Why? Have a look at page 155, which, due to a
printing error, was blank when the book left the factory:
The previous owner has got themselves another copy of the
book and copied the entire text onto the blank page. How can anyone not love that?
Nervous Lion
A pretty tatty example of what I found to be a difficult
book to find.
Singing Serpent
This is Joshua Chrichton’s old copy. Thanks Josh for looking after it for me. A nice, tight, clean book.
Shrinking House
The top corner of the fep has been torn off, otherwise a
nice clean book. Some minor foxing to
top edge.
Phantom Lake
Quite nice, this one, of course the paper stock used in
small hardbacks was upgraded in 1979 and books published in that year all have
nice white pages.
Monster Mountain
It’s in pretty rubbish condition, this. Dirty page edges and worn boards. To be fair, it’s a hard one to find in better
condition.
Haunted Mirror
A really good copy with clean fresh pages and boards.
Dead Man’s Riddle
A generally nice copy let down by wear to the spine.
Invisible Dog
Another nice tight copy but again with fading to spine.
Death Trap Mine
The problem with these last few books is that although
they are all in generally great condition, the spines are for some reason worn
and faded, even though the books have clearly not been read.
So there we have it folks; a mixed bag, mostly let down
by worn boards and faded spines.
Overall, these books are in nowhere near as good shape as their large
counterparts, which is a shame, because to me the spine if one of the great
features of this imprint. Of these, I
would consider upgrading around a third
of them, so there’s clearly work to be done on my small hardback front.
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