The Witch Tree Symbol: Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #33

The Witch Tree Symbol Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #33 by Carolyn Keene (but actually written by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams) Hardcover First Edition - First Printing Grosset & Dunlap 1955. The list of Nancy Drew titles ends with this title and the back of the dust jacket is an add for Dana Girls Mystery Stories indicating this is a true first printing copy.

Fine in Fine-/Near Fine++ Dust Jacket. A fine book with just the tiniest hint of age-toning, minimal, in just about as nice a dust jacket as you're likely to find. NO tearing to any of the dust jacket at all. Even the back of the dust jacket is quite bright and clean (often the backs of these jackets are darkened). Only some rubbing on the upper-right front corner, and some edge-wear mostly to the upper and lower spine and the top edge. Else this is a near-perfect copy! A stunning example price to sell.

NOTE on Nancy Drew First Editions/First Printings: The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy books are rather notorious for having issues concerning what is a first edition, first printing, versus a later printing. Lot's of collectors often combine two aspects in their definition of "first edition", i.e. a "first edition" is a "first printing of the first edition".

Unfortunately, Grosset & Dunlap did not make identifying editions and printings easy. Typically, a year is just stated on the copyright page, but that year may not be when the actual copy was printed. What may appear like a first edition of a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book may be a much later printing, and hence it could be much less valuable. The only sure-fire way to identify a first printing of a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book (assuming all aspects appear to verify the book was printed from the time it first appeared, such as dust jacket style, etc.), is by the list on the dust jacket. Some Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books have lists of their titles both inside the book and on the dust jacket, while other titles offer the list ONLY on the dust jacket.

For example. if the list appears on the dust jacket, then you to look to see where the present title (i.e. the actual book) is listed. If the title of the present book does not appear in the list at all, or if the last title on the list is the present book, then most likely it is a first printing. If the title of the book appears within the list and their exist other titles after it, such as it's the fourth title from the bottom of the list, that means four additional titles were printed after the present copy, which probably means the copy is a fourth printing, and much less valuable than a first printing.

NOTE: All modern books with dust jackets come with dust jacket covers.