Each book in the Hardbound Trade Edition measure 5-3/4" X 8-1/2" in size and contains seven full-page black & white internal illustrations interspersed throughout the text. These hardbound books are known as Picture Cover books since the cover art is printed directly on the paper-covered boards. None of the U.S. hardbound formats were ever issued with a paper dust jacket. On all hardbound titles #1 - #14, the cover art continues around the spine and onto the back cover. There is one notable exception: #2 "Stuttering Parrot". Please click HERE to find out more interesting facts about the very early printings of this title. On all hardbound titles #15 - #28, the cover art is confined to the front cover while the spine and back covers have one solid background color.
At the top of the spine of every hardbound trade edition featuring Hitchcock is a colored rectangular box which states "Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Series" and then the number of the title. For books which don't feature Hitchcock, the words "The Three Investigators Mystery Series" appears in the box. Below that is the title of the book and at the bottom of the spine are the words "Random House". Except for the very earliest printings of the first four titles, the back cover lists all of the titles available in this series at the time the book was printed. Thus, it isn't too difficult to determine approximately when any given book was actually manufactured. For example, a copy of #10 "Moaning Cave which lists 10 titles on the back cover was manufactured in 1968 or early 1969 while a copy which lists 16 titles on the back cover was manufactured in 1971 or early 1972. On books in this series printed in 1971 and thereafter, one can find the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) in the lower-right corner of the back cover and also on the copyright page. This number, or lack thereof, is particularly important in determining a First Printing from a Second Printing of #13 "Crooked Cat" and #14 "Coughing Dragon".
It seems that the goal of almost every fan and collector of The Three Investigators is to obtain each of the titles in a hardbound format even if one grew up owning or reading only the paperbacks. A collection of hardbacks definitely looks quite impressive displayed on shelves in one's office, den, or library.
In the Three Investigators series, there are only two hardbound editions: the regular Trade Edition which was sold to the public through retail bookstores and the Gibraltar Library Binding (GLB) Edition which was made available to the public through schools and libraries. Each of these two editions was published simultaneously. In this section, we will concern ourselves solely with the Random House Hardbound Trade Edition which was available in two different formats: the original Matte Covers and the later Glossy Covers.
The Random House Hardbound Trade Edition was manufactured from 1964 - 1978 and includes titles #1 - #28. In 1978, Random House decided to produce The Three Investigators series only in a paperback edition for the retail trade. Collectors wishing to complete a full set of all 43 original Three Investigators titles in hardbound must seek out and purchase the GLB editions of titles #29 - #43.
It is imperative to note that the adhesive that was used to bind the textblocks to the covers on most of the
Random House Trade Edition books was of a very poor quality that dried out and has become very brittle. Unfortunately, a very high percentage of Three Investigators books are found with textblocks that are either partially or completely detached from the covers. Often, books are found that have already been repaired by a former owner. Books that are currently in nice, tight condition often get jarred apart in the mailing process. For the most part, repairing the books is not too difficult. Please see the link found at the bottom of this page to an excellent repair tutorial created by fellow collector, Robert Held.
There are two varieties of endpapers found in the harbound books: the famous Blue "Graveyard" eps (1964 -1975) which depict The Three Investigators traversing a cemetery and heading towards the ominous dark figure with a cane wearing an overcoat and hat, or the plain white eps (1975 - 1978).
In addition, the endpapers may be uncut or cut. Uncut endpapers are one continuous, two-page sheet while cut eps have been sliced down the center with one half being pasted to inside cover of the book and the other half attached to the textblock. In general, uncut endpapers were used on the very earliest printings of books #1 and #2, on all copies of #26, 27 and 28, and on some of the later glossy-cover printings of a few of the earier titles like #4, 5, 11, 13, 16 and 17. Occasionally, one will find uncut eps on other books within the series but these are real oddities. Uncut eps helped make the books more sturdy and prevented textblock separation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Three Investigators books contain cut endpapers.
Hardbound books #7 and #8 state on the copyright page "Printed by Colonial Press Inc., Clinton, Mass." Hardbound book #12 states: "Printed and Bound by Colonial Press, Clinton, Mass."
Hardbound book #7 states on the copyright page: "Designed by Jackie Corner". Ms. Corner was married in 1967 and books #9 - 12 all state: "Designed by Jackie Mabli". Please see my inteview with Random House book designer Jackie Corner.
To learn how to professionally repair your damaged T3I books, click HERE.
