Books

New York: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, 1927. First printing. Near fine in a very good plus jacket.. First edition, first state of the second book from the legendary Hardy Boys series, in exceptional condition. Conceived by Edward Statemeyer in 1926 and soon packaged and sold to Grossett and Dunlap, the first three titles in the Hardy Boys series were all published simultaneously the following year. Their success was almost instantaneous. Part of their popularity and endurance can be directly attributed to the original writer behind the house pseudonym "Franklin W. Dixon," ghostwriter Leslie McFarlane, who later wrote: "It was still hack work, no doubt, but did the new series have to be all that hack? There was, after all, the chance to contribute a little style. It seemed to me that the Hardy Boys deserved something better than the slapdash treatment [...] I opted for Quality." That quality helped propel the series, which ultimately accounted for half of all the Syndicate's…

Frank and Joe investigate a mysterious old mansion said to hide a secret smuggling operation.