Island of Adventure 'retro' hardback edition 2014

[Moonraker]

No, I've no problem with facsimile jackets, obviously, as long as they are advertised as such. To me, it's about the look, not the value. Of course, for a serious collector of originals, I can understand the frustration at seeing a bargain price first!

[walter raleigh]

Yes I wouldn't have any problem if the seller is up front about it. If they put it in the heading of the listing then that would be fine, but they never do. As Fiona says it's usually buried in the small print.

I completely agree that they have a place for those who are on a budget. For example I would like a complete ealy set of 'Adventure' novels with dust jackets but decent copies are usually way out of my price range so using reproductions would be an affordable way of doing it. Having said that, although I don't regard myself as a serious collector, to me it would feel a little bit like cheating somehow.

Going back to Pete's post I agree the £14.50 book is seemingly better value than the £63.00 copy but then most things look good value when compared to Stella and Rose's prices! Of course there is a postage charge of £2.95 on top of that so the 'real' price is £17.45

However, here is a first edition of "Strange Bundle" available for only £5.00 or best offer with no postage charges:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THE-MYSTERY-O ... 567039f617" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here is a reproduction jacket from a first edition for 'only' £7.35, and again no P&P charge. Note the cover of the book I originally posted is "a laser printed copy of a later original", not a first edition.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ENID-BLYTON-M ... 2c966934a2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So for £12.35 or less you could have a first edition with a 'more authentic' dustjacket and save over a fiver. Suddenly that £14.50 'bargain' doesn't seem quite so cheap after all.

See that's what gets me. It's the huge mark up these people charge for putting together a cheap reprinted dust jacket and what is usually a fairly common book to get hold of in first edition. You'd be better off sourcing a first edition yourself and then printing off a copy of the dust jacket from the Cave Of Books!

[Moonraker]

Find-Outers' books seem to be better value. I've a couple of First Editions with d/js, and they didn't cost much.

[Courtenay]

Possibly because most first edition Find-Outers were illustrated by Joseph Abbey, who was one of the least talented illustrators Enid ever had during her lifetime, so they're not as sought after today as original Eileen Soper, Stuart Tresilian or Treyer Evans dust wrappers!

[Moonraker]

Hmm, not sure about that. I find Abbey's illustrations so bad, that they are almost endearing!

[Courtenay]

I find Abbey's illustrations so bad, that they are almost endearing!

And yet you don't feel the same way about Betty Maxey?

[Moonraker]

No, they aren't really dreadful, just bad!

[Rob Houghton]

This is my copy of Six Cousins Again - with fake dust wrapper. Not a very good photo, sorry. It was sold as an original wrapper - and I was foolish and didn't inspect it - the join is clearly to be seen on the back cover! Anyway, it's quite a hard book to find, and I've never seen a copy with or without a dustwrapper, so I kept it to teach myself a lesson to be more observant in future!

[Moonraker]

It looks as if you've thrown the book in the pond!

[Rob Houghton]

terrible photo...although I felt like throwing it in a pond when I discovered I'd been tricked!

[Rob Houghton]

I have a full set of Adventure books with dustwrapper, and also a good few Find Outer books with dust wrapper. Maybe these were owned by older children, and so the wrappers were kept in better condition. I payed about £30 for each of my Adventure books with DWs...and that was around 10 or 15 years ago.

[sixret]

I have two Six Cousins Again in dustwrappers. One is for sale, just saying.

[Courtenay]

Well, you know where the For Sale forum is.

[John Pickup]

I was once offered a 1st edition of Christmas At Nettleford, a book by Malcolm Saville which was the 2nd in a series of four. On inspection the book was indeed a first edition but the dustwrapper advertised the 3rd book in the series. When I pointed this out, the dealer said, well, does it matter? I replied yes it does when you are selling the whole book as a 1st edition. I didn't buy it, not because I'm a purist, but because he was clearly trying to rip me off.

[Rob Houghton]

I can't seem to find a thread actually about 'The Island of Adventure' without there being some specific theme attached to the thread. I hate searching for thread titles, because even using advanced search, it still brings up about 50 pages to trawl through! So, after a while of searching, I thought I may as well post my question here -

Reading The Island of Adventure at the moment and enjoying revisiting it, but I was intrigued to know whether the scene in which Bill takes the children in his boat, and his cigarette is whipped from his hands by the wind, is still included in modern editions?

As I have no edition more modern than the 1970's Piccolo edition, I can't check for myself! It's near the start of chapter 14 and Bill exclaims that if Kiki was any good, she'd fly after the cigarette and bring it back, then Bill tries to light another cigarette, which 'the wind made rather difficult'. I was just intrigued whether this has been erased from the modern reprints, as it shows a respectable and admirable character smoking a cigarette!