Murder in Miami

The place to post anything DW-related
Locked
dawn

Murder in Miami

Post by dawn »

my uncle has just inherited a rather weird book by dennis wheatley. it is called Murder in Miami, it is a dossier and has all photos and bits of hair like a police report, it is a first edition, he was wondering whether it is valuable but doesnt know where to go to ask. its a bit dog eared and i know this brings down the price, but i think he should insure it so would be grateful if some one could give us a rough estimate. thanks


(Message moved here from the old Library)
User avatar
Bob Rothwell
Webmaster
Webmaster
Posts: 173
Joined: Thu 16 Jun, 2005 20:28:00
Location: Peterborough, UK
Contact:

Post by Bob Rothwell »

Hello Dawn,

I don't really go in for valuations, therefore the only guidance I can give you is based on observation. The dossiers (there are 4 titles in all) are an oddity as, to me, they should be worth a fortune. Unfortunately they were so popular that there are still a large number in circulation which keeps the prices down. The best prices go to clean, unbent copies with the 'sealed section' at the back still sealed. Even better prices if the copy is signed by DW. The rest tend to go on eBay for £5 upwards. Booksellers tend to price the ones with an opened section from £15 to £30 and from £25 upwards for ones with a sealed section. Maximum selling price in the UK currently seems to be around £75.

Sorry I can't give you any better news.


(Message moved here from the old Library)
Darren
Level5
Level5
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue 8 Dec, 2009 20:12:43
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Post by Darren »

Murder Off Miami was published in the US as 'Crimefile Number 1 File on Bolitho Blane' in 1936 (I got that info from this site's museum).

Interestingly for sale on ebay at the moment in the US is a school yearbook called '1937 Calhoun Girls School Yearbook'. It is a typical school yearbook from the era written and produced by the students of the school.

It's description includes the following:

"One engaging issue of this book is that the students wrote detailed reviews of current literature: including Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell (!), Crimefile on Bolitho Blane by Dennis Wheatley, North to the Orient by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Nine Old Men by Drew Pearson, Fighting Angel by Pearl S. Buck, Lost Horizon by James Hilton, The Broken Song by Sonia Dougherty, and To the Mountain by Bradford Smith, and others.

So DW was gaining popularity with the US youth as early as 1936.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1937-Calhoun- ... 518eb5efb7
Regards,

Darren.
Steve Whatley
Level5
Level5
Posts: 218
Joined: Sat 19 Aug, 2006 13:43:36

Post by Steve Whatley »

Interesting that Murder Off Miami should be popular at a Girls' School.

Mind you, it seems to be women who are more fascinated than men by the seemingly endless cycle of murder mystery series on television these days.[font=Times New Roman] [/font]
Darren
Level5
Level5
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue 8 Dec, 2009 20:12:43
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Post by Darren »

Thats a thought, Steve. It might explain why Agatha Christie retained her (maybe even grew in) popularity after her death.
Regards,

Darren.
Jim
Level5
Level5
Posts: 362
Joined: Wed 22 Jun, 2005 03:25:05
Location: NYC

Post by Jim »

Darren wrote: That might explain why Agatha Christie retained her (maybe even grew in) popularity after her death.
Christie's work has been managed by a dedicated team of family members, and they've gone along with repeated television adaptations, some of which have left the purists screaming, but which keep "the brand" alive. In the same way, J.R.R. Tolkien (through the editorial labors of his son) has continued to release a book a year despite his unfortunate demise; there is always something before the public. There's a vague statement in the DW article at Wikipedia, "His availability and influence declined following his death, partly owing to difficulties of reprinting his works because of copyright problems." How many times since 1977 could Hutchinson have made a nice piece of change by issuing Of Vice and Virtue in a general edition? Once people got out of the habit of reading Wheatley, it might not be easy to get them back in...

Wheatley's publishing history in the U.S. has been very spotty. There have been various attempts to interest readers here, but what was Putnam thinking when they decided to begin the Roger Brook series with The Man who Killed the King? It would have helped if he could have entered a long-term deal with a publisher, too (as did Christie and Tolkien), but when he refused to write a third consecutive Gregory Sallust novel, Macmillan ended their contract.
Locked

Return to “General Topics”