The Stratemeyer Syndicate was working to produce books that would sell for many years. This meant that there was an avoidance of brand names and slang and popular culture items which would tend to date the stories. Even World War II was largely unmentioned directly for the titles produced during the war. Uncle Ned of […]
A 2015 post collected some information about Mega-Books, the book packager that succeeded the Stratemeyer Syndicate when the earlier firm was purchased by Simon & Schuster. The Stratemeyer Syndicate supplied outlines, often very detailed, to its ghostwriters. However, Mega-Books (and Simon & Schuster afterward when they took the work in house) required writers to supply […]
Chances are you’ve read some or “all” of the Nancy Drew books available when you were a child. In nearly 90 years she has both entertained and inspired generations through her independence and inquisitiveness. Modern mystery books often have Nancy Drew references. Women leaders have repeatedly named her as an inspiration for their career choices. […]
Tom Swift was the popular young inventor character created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1910. There were actually five series with characters named Tom Swift through 2007. Whatever Tom was working on was just what was needed for the next adventure. Interestingly, most of the inventions and vehicles in the stories have parallels which were proposed or created […]
Part 1 of this series explored Stratemeyer Syndicate series book typefaces of the 1920s through the mid-1940s. In 1946 the appearance of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were changed dramatically. The dust jackets adopted a new design which collectors call a “wraparound” dust jacket. The illustration is wider and starts on the front panel […]
The success of a book can be attributed to many things. It can be related to plot and characters. Illustrations can have a significant impact. Not always recognized is the importance of page design and typography. The shapes of the letters, the spacing, the size of the margins. Edward Stratemeyer’s role as an amateur printer […]
Chances are you’ve read some or “all” of the Nancy Drew books available when you were a child. In nearly 90 years she has both entertained and inspired generations through her independence and inquisitiveness. Modern mystery books often have Nancy Drew references. Women leaders have repeatedly named her as an inspiration for their career choices. […]
Do you remember reading popular books like Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and the Bobbsey Twins? These were all products of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book packager founded by Edward Stratemeyer in 1905. Through some ingenious methods, they produced some 1,400 volumes between 1905 and 1985 in both famous and obscure series. They […]
James D. Keeline will give two presentations as part of the Oasis Lifelong Learning program in June 2018. These are held at Grossmont Center in La Mesa. Details will be found on the individual event pages. This includes the nominal fee ($12 per class) and a link to register on the Oasis website. Stratemeyer Syndicate […]
This post was written on the 155th anniversary of Edward Stratemeyer’s birthday. Edward Stratemeyer was born on October 4, 1862 in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Henry Julius Stratemeyer and Anna Siegel Stratemeyer. He was the youngest of six children born to Anna. His three oldest half-brothers were fathered by George Edward Stratemeyer before he died […]