Franklin Library of Mystery Masterpieces

All -

I have started a new topic to see if I could stimulate discussion on The Franklin Library of Mystery Masterpieces series. I have learned that Franklin Library had two parallel series on this that featured a leather bound series as well as a non-leather bound series. The covers of the books looked almost identical between the leather and non-leather series which is one reason why there is much confusion concerning the Mystery Masterpieces books. I have also heard that Franklin Library did not produce all of the volumes in leather that were produced for the non-leather series. Does anyone have any detailed information on the Mystery Masterpieces, especially on the leather series?

I too would like to know if there are any obvious ways differentiate the leather Mystery Masterpieces from their leatherette counterparts.

A while ago I tried to track down a leather copy of the handsome Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes, but I gave up after failing to find a way to distinguish between the leatherette and leather editions of the book. If someone could provide any helpful pointers, maybe I'll reopen the case.

> 2
I am definitely no expert in this particular series, only having one book in it, which I bought knowingly as a leatherette version (cheaply!), but my understanding is that only the full leather versions have a sewn-in bookmark. Another possible distinguishing feature, though I am not as certain about this for the Mystery series specifically, is the full leather versions of Franklin series generally have silk moire endpages whereas the leatherette or quarter leather books had only paper endpages. Good luck! It can be very frustrating as most sellers don't have a clue. One wasn't even sure what endpages were or and had never heard of moire silk even though they were selling over 50 Franklin books!

That's great to know that I can use the bookmark and endpapers to differentiate the leather versions. Thanks for straightening this out for us.

NP. I only know because someone here taught me once!

I have 38 of the leather versions with the sewn-in book markers. All of them have marbled (paper) endpapers. The series (full leather) was produced with the marbled endpapers not the moire fabric in the same way as the non-leather version. Franklin Library made all of their earlier full leather series with moire fabric. The later series such as the Heirloom, Signed First Edition Society, and Pulitzer Prize Classics (not to be confused with an earlier Pulitzer Prize Library series) all had the marbled endpapers vice moire. I suspect it was part of a cost cutting effort. The Franklin Library Mystery Masterpieces series came along in about 1988 and as such was one of Franklin Library's later full leather series.

I was able to grab a mint leather "Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes" today for a steal on ebay using the silk bookmark tip. Thanks again!

Nowsharing -

I have been buying Franklin Library books over the past seven years on E-Bay. There use to be around 450 Franklin Library books on the E-Bay on average per day. Now there averages about 4,500 (10 times what use to be offered) on any given day. With the increased supply has come a drop in prices. Many of the Franklin Mystery volumes were selling for $60 to $120 each about five years ago. Now they can be picked up for $30 to $50 each in many cases. Now is a great time to buy an increase your collection if you can. It is a buyer's market.

>1 Axatar:: There are fifty titles in the Mystery Masterpieces collection and all fifty were produced in both full leather and leatherette editions. I happen to have them in full leather. I can confirm that the full leather series is distinguishable from the leatherette version by the sewn-in, silk ribbon page marker, which is absent in the leatherette version. The full leather versions of the Mystery Masterpieces collection do, in fact, have paper end-sheets, identical to the leatherette version.

Wailofatail -

Since you seem to be in the know on this series, can you shed any light on the fact that several of the volumes seem to have two versions. Specifically, The Day of the Jackal has one version done in silver and the other in gold. The one in gold has the image of the assassin in a bended position while the one done in silver has the assassin in a more upright position. The background on both have the same layout except one is in silver and one is gold. Also, the volume on Rebecca has two versions as well with one having a woman looking out a window while the other has a seascape picture on the cover. The third volume that appears to have two different versions is Poe’s Tales of Mystery & Imagination. One has a beetle or scarab on the cover while the other has what looks to be a cave with columns in it. I can’t say that I have seen all three of these books in both of the versions in leather so I don’t know if both versions for all three of the books appeared in leather. What I do know is that the Day of the Jackal has the silver version in both leather and faux leather (I have both) but I have only seen the gold version in the faux leather version. My first thoughts were that there was some sort of printing error on these volumes which caused Franklin Library to come out with a replacement version for their subscribers. The covers were changed to easily identify the two versions. If that was in fact the case, which ones were the original prints and which were their replacements? I don’t know if I am on the mark on this or not. Can you shed any light on this? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Like you, I began collecting these books long after Franklin Library was defunct as a company, so most of my intelligence is based on second hand information too. Through my adventures collecting I've found that while you can often establish what is, it is almost impossible to establish what isn't. There is always the possibility that what we think doesn't exist does, in fact, exist, and you or I simply haven't discovered it yet.

Here is what I do know. I have a full leather edition of The Day of the Jackal with the featureless gunman on the cover. (You distinguish the two different versions by 'bended' v. 'upright' and while I think I understand what you mean, a more clear distinction is that on one the assassin's face is featureless while on the other he has facial features.) I have seen the featureless edition (silver) in both the full leather and leatherette edition, while I have only seen the edition with facial features (gold) in the leatherette edition.

I have a full leather edition of Rebecca with the woman looking out the window. As I write, there are no other editions of this on-line with pictures by which I might ascertain if a similar edition exists in leatherette, though I suspect one does exist. My hunch is that the seascape edition exists only in leatherette.

I have a full leather edition of Tales of Mystery and Imagination with the scarab on the cover. Again, this same edition exists in leatherette. And again, I have only seen the edition with the columns and cave in the leatherette version. At the time that I was putting together my collection, a seller who claimed to have a complete set of the full leather editions and who seemed knowledgeable about the subject, told me that the column/cave edition was only published in the leatherette version. I would have thought I would have run across at least one full leather copy by now if one did exist.

My speculation is that for every full leather edition, there is a nearly identical leatherette edition, without a sewn-in bookmark. I don't know if the Franklin Library issued the two different versions simultaneously at different price points, i.e. 'Deluxe' v. 'Standard', or if they originally published them in full leather and as costs increased and demand decreased they re-issued them in leatherette to try keeping them affordable to the mass market. My hunch is that it was the former ... though that is conjecture on my part. (I welcome anybody that has first-hand knowledge regarding the timing of the publications to chime in.)

It seems that at some time the Franklin Library re-issued the three books in question here with different covers only in the leatherette edition. I speculate that both the full leather and leatherette editions were originally offered simultaneously at different price points and were nearly identical, hence a leatherette edition of The Day of the Jackal in silver similar to the full leather edition, a leatherette edition of Tales of Mystery and Imagination with the scarab and most likely a leatherette edition of Rebecca with the woman at the window. It seems plausible that as raw material prices increased and demand for the full leather editions decreased, and perhaps even as the Franklin Library began to suffer financial strain, that they discontinued the more expensive full leather edition but continued to offer the leatherette edition, or else they offered the set again at a later date but only in the leatherette edition. For the later publication, it seems that the cover, for whatever reason, of The Day of the Jackal, Rebecca, and Tales of Mystery and Imagination were changed. Consequently, you will only ever see leatherette editions for the particular covers of these three editions. It doesn't seem likely to me that these three were changed due to any type of printing error or an attempt to distinguish one from the other. There probably is no rational explanation; they just did. You could imagine that they intended to change them all upon a re-issue and then abandoned the idea after re-designing the three, but I really have no idea.

I realize there is a lot of conjecture and speculation going on here but it seems to support the facts as know them to date, that there is a leatherette edition nearly identical to each of the full leather editions and that there are three unique covers for three of the titles in the collection that I have only ever seen in the leatherette version.

Hopefully something here is of value to you.

Wailofatail -

Thank you for the information. I have leather bound copies of the three books (Rebecca, The Day of the Jackal, and Tales of Mystery and Imagination), but only one version of each. Like you, I have never seen a leather copy of the second version on any of the three books even though I have been looking for a number of years. Based on your post, I think I am finally coming to the conclusion that the second version of these three titles never did have a corresponding leather version. I appreciate your input. Thanks!

I am taking this out of the dormant category just to raise the issue again as I see these fine mystery books being given away as "leatherette" when indeed they are leather....though there is also a faux leather edition. The leather edition does not have moire fabric like the EP sci-fi series; it has creative thematic end papers. It has gold OR silver gilt pages and a ribbon marker. And many still have that leather smell. Simply ask if it has a ribbon, and you might pick up some real leather book bargains. Some real treasures in this series such as Maltese Falcon and Day of the Jackal to name two.

Ditto Skochkin in that there is some confusion between which are leather and which are leatherette by sellers. You can often find leather versions for the same price or less than most of the corresponding leatherette versions. Can easily find them on ebay at BIN of $15ish and sometimes less.

Worth noting that Easton has the "Karla Trilogy" of John le Carre books (signed Tinker Tailor, Honorable Schoolboy, Smiley's People) for $375, and you can easily find the Franklin trilogy as individual titles (first edition on Honorable Schoolboy and Smiley's People, Franklin Mystery Tinker Tailor - have to watch out for the leather one rather than leatherette - which is why I mention it in this thread) for well under $100. They don't match the way the Easton Press ones do, buuuuut well worth the money if you don't mind that. Especially since if you collect the other leather le Carre books you'll have at least one other one signed. Beware though that in my experience leather spy novels are much more likely to arrive to your house smelling heavily of cigarette smoke than any other genre of novel.

51 titles in the collection, yes?

>17 dprendergast:
Yes. Not all of them were issued in leather, though.

But they were all issued in leather. At least if the presence of the sewn-in ribbon marker is dispositive. I have all 51 with that feature.

>19 dprendergast:
I stand corrected, and congratulations on having a complete set. My information came from this site:

"This series was originally offered in leather and leatherette, but the leather version didn’t sell well and was discontinued (thus not all titles are available in leather). The leather editions came from a different Franklin Library series and didn’t follow the same sequence of titles as the leatherette versions."

http://www.leather-bound-books.net/57/franklin-library-franklin-mystery-masterpi...

Yes, I was under that same impression, from that and similar sources. But I was fortunate to acquire a nearly complete collection in leather, and then able to complete it. I didn't mean to sound snooty about it and I'm afraid I did. Thank you.

I have 49 of the leather editions - missing Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes and Great British Mystery Stories. Finding these two hard to source from Australia - one because there are so many of them on the market purporting to be leather (and then not being) and the other because there are so few on the market. If anyone is selling either of the two books I would be interested.

I see a few in leather of Holmes Mystery with ribbon. You are right British is rare in leather.

Leather vs. Leatherette? - I think that the ribbon ALWAYS designates a leather copy.
I have also found that almost all of the 51 volumes (I think 47 or 48) can be distinguished by just looking at the spine. This helps tremendously when looking on line for leather versions.
Example - "The Ipcress File" - In the block above the top hub - The leather version has 3 rows of "bricks". The leatherette version has 2 rows of "bricks".

>24 moose4580: Franklin did a great disservice to their subscribers by publishing nearly identical versions in a number of sets causing great confusion. Thus you will see people trying to sell HC books as genuine leather first edition first printing for $250! If you can’t tell if it’s leather except for a ribbon or two vs three hubs good luck trying to sell them st a decent price.

All I'm saying is that IF you are trying to put together a leather set.... If you know what you are looking for, (just from the details on the spine) you can know if they are the leather ones or not. I've picked up half the set in the last 6 months @ under $20 a book. No error's, they all have the satin ribbon (leather). I agree with your note about a disservice, and "sellers claiming leather" is ridiculous, Maybe over 50 % claiming leather are not. and also ever trying to resell. (It would be best to show all pictures with ribbon) Again, if you know what the differences are between the leather versions and the leatherette, all you need is a picture of the spine of the book. You don't have to see the ribbon. You don't have to read the description, or even see the ribbon. Picked up "Great British Mysteries" in leather for under $15. One of the easiest examples is on "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy" Leatherette has silhouettes in Silver - Leather has silhouettes in Black.

I am having problems distinguishing the difference on 2 titles from 1987.

>24 moose4580: Excellent tips, I bought Ipcress for less than $15. Still looking for Tinker though. I've started going through and figuring out the differences on the others, it's a fun game.

Just a little info on multiple printings: ------- Here are several small differences on some of the other earlier titles - not previously described.
For example
There are at least 3 versions of Mousetrap:
1 - Leather - 659 pages - Marbled endpapers - Medium Red Brown Color - Much lighter than 2 or 3.
2 - Velvet? - 659 pages - Marbled endpapers - Burgandy Red Cover
3 - Felt? (definitely different from #2 - much harder.) - 650 pages - Yes - 9 pages shorter! - Mouse design endpapers - Deep Wine Cover (almost purple red) - Much darker than #2.
Title Page and contents page numbers in 3 are different Same in 1 and 2.
All 3 covers appear the same - Many many different variants on how the ticket is torn. Interesting that the LL2 LEFT is the ticket described in "The Roman Hat Mystery"
The spines of 2 and 3 appear identical.
The spine of the leather version does have a slight difference in spacing below the "Franklin Mystery" below the bottom hub. - But not enough to distinguish using distinct pictures, only if both are in one picture.
Basically you can't distinguish any of the versions for this title by spine design alone. - AT least I don't think I can. - Maybe someone else can? OK, leather looks different than velvet or felt, but the designs appears the same.

Ran by Half Price Books today and became aware that their are two different spines for "Postman Always Rings Twice" leatherette. I was surprised! They were sitting side and side. One had a very narrow font (similiar to the font used on the leather version) on the title, and the other a very thick font. Covers appeared identical - These were both the leatherette version - So it appears that there was more than 1 printing run of the leatherette here also = Or at least the binding!

I think what has been said before is accurate that only 3 titles have very different covers, but there are also other titles with minor differences. Many of the covers differ "slightly!" between the leather and non-leather versions. Example - "Ghostly Tales" Leather - The R door is closed. Leatherette - The L door is closed.

I have no idea how many there might be, - I just noticed these 2 and thought I'd throw the info out there.

>28 moose4580: they also reprinted the Oxford library a number of times (3 I believe). In addition they would print favorite classics in virtually every series. So if you were subscribed to 3-4 series as I was you could get 3-4 copies of the same work and have no way of returning the duplicates since Franklin was not very flexible like Easton Press. Thus I quit some series prematurely.

Printing identical works in leather and faux leatherette was unconscionable on their part. Since they did not print “made of genuine leather” on the front page of the leather book, you have this terrible confusion among owners, sellers and buyers.

I’m wondering whether the binding for the leatherette versions aren’t glued instead of sewn? I have a few and am reading it now and that appears to be the case, though sometimes hard to tell.

I am fairly new to collecting this series, and am having fun with it. Roughly speaking does anyone have an idea what the full leather series is worth?

>31 jeanellelroe: it depends on the work and if a collector is trying to complete the set. Because of the confusion over leather or faux leatherette, the latter discernible only by presence or absence of ribbon, I think you should be able to get most volumes at or below original MSRP or about $30-$35 at most; many are not coveted works and can be obtained in the $15-$20 range. Exceptions will be rare leather like the Maltese Falcon. When collecting simply ask if the novel has a ribbon (this it is leather). If it does you might get a bargain because of the confusion.

Hi, I just joined. I have been collecting leather books for a long time. Recently I have been looking into this series. Does anyone have the complete list of the leather mystery series by Franklin?

>33 MarkKHolland:
Welcome to the group, although you will find that it isn’t very active anymore. The most reliable list I’ve found is this one: http://www.eastonfranklinbooks.com/franklin-library-series/fl-mystery

All were issued both in leather and leatherette/faux leather editions. You have to be very careful when purchasing them online, because many sellers don’t know the difference. I think it is always the case that the true leather editions have a ribbon marker while the others don’t.

In response to full leather set cost - I have 49 of 51. Average cost is about 28. started 16 months ago. For myself Mousetrap, Fer-de-Lance, and Tiger in the Smoke were the highest. All under $43.
I would say any of the books from 1990 will be a little higher than most and offered less often. Leather vs leatherette? The only one I can't tell a difference from just looking at the spine is "Mousetrap". "The pictures of the Sherlock Holmes editions is often not clear enough to tell. The satin ribbon bookmark is found ONLY in the leather versions. I think the hardest to get from either set may be the "Great British Mysteries" leatherette.

It is interesting that the mystery series seems to be Franklin’s most popular series in recent years, at least in this forum. Perhaps Easton and Folio should take note.

Bumping my post #30...wondering whether people have found that the binding on their leatherette books is glued and not sewn? Seems that way to me :(

>37 RRCBS: I just finished the excellent Red House Mystery (leather edition). If you go to the gutter between natural sections of the book and spread the sections gently you can see it’s sewn together.

Thanks, I agree the leather ones are definitely sewn, but what about the leatherette books?